UC Irvine announces $50 million gift from Joe C. Wen and family
Funding will name, support new public health school and cardiovascular services
July 18, 2024
Orange, Calif. — A transformational gift of $50 million, following a $20 million donation to UCI Health in 2022, from Southern California businessman Joe C. Wen and his family to the University of California, Irvine will support the newly created School of Population & Public Health and the growth of cardiovascular research and care. This is the largest gift to UC Irvine by a donor under age 50 and the first naming gift of a University of California school after a Taiwanese American.
“This historic gift from Joe C. Wen and the Wen family is a testament to their remarkable dedication to advancing human health and well-being,” said Chancellor Howard Gillman. “Their donation enables UC Irvine to accelerate our efforts in education, research and healthcare, ensuring our position at the forefront of innovative and impactful solutions to the challenges of our time.”
In conjunction, the UC Board of Regents approved a proposal today for transitioning the Program in Public Health into a school, which will be named the Joe C. Wen School of Population & Public Health in recognition of the Wens’ generosity. Additionally, the Irvine campus intends to recognize the donors by renaming the School of Medicine’s Division of Cardiology to the Mary & Steve Wen Cardiovascular Division, the first ever named division at the School of Medicine, in honor of Joe C. Wen’s parents, and the UCI Health Cardiovascular Center at UCI Medical Center in Orange the Tsai Ya Au Heart & Vascular Pavilion, in memory of Joe C. Wen’s grandfather.
“This transformational gift will empower the distinctive One Health approach of UC Irvine Health Affairs, uniting health disciplines to amplify their combined strengths,” said Steve Goldstein, vice chancellor for health affairs. “With the support of Joe C. Wen and his family, we are fostering interdisciplinary collaboration to produce groundbreaking research, elevate public health education and improve healthcare outcomes for our community and beyond.”
The gift will establish two significant endowments aimed at enhancing the academic and research capabilities of UC Irvine in critical health-related fields. Of the total gift, $42.5 million will create a fund for the highest priorities of the Joe C. Wen School of Population & Public Health, reflecting the university’s commitment to addressing the complex health challenges facing communities locally and around the world.
The other $7.5 million is dedicated to advancing cardiological research, education and clinical operations within the School of Medicine and the UCI Health system. This endowment underscores the importance of cutting-edge cardiovascular care and research, fostering innovations that can lead to better health outcomes.
“Our family’s commitment to advancing healthcare and education has always been a core value,” Joe C. Wen said. “We are honored to support UC Irvine in its mission to improve healthcare and advance teaching and research, continuing a legacy of care and compassion for future generations.”
About Joe C. Wen
Joe C. Wen immigrated to the U.S. from Taiwan as a teenager. His family’s early years in America were challenging. Wen’s parents worked hard to support the family, and he worked through college and graduate school to pay his tuition and help his parents. After earning a bachelor’s degree from UCLA and an MBA from USC, Wen started his first business in 2003 as a paper merchant.
Today his business, Formosa Ltd., has grown into a multinational conglomerate. Formosa has substantial holdings in businesses across several industries. It is known for its five core businesses: venture capital, financial lending, real estate holding and development, property management, and forest products manufacturing and trading. Formosa conducts international trade in forest, industrial and consumer products across the world and invests in and develops real estate projects, including large office buildings in Southern California. The company also invests in, develops, owns and manages mainly commercial real estate and invests in new real estate projects.
“I am grateful to my parents, Mary and Steve Wen, who sacrificed everything they had in Taiwan to move to the U.S. for a better life for their children. Their example taught me that I should give back to the community and that success can only be achieved through dedication and hard work. Their inspiration made this gift possible,” Wen said. “I am also grateful to my grandfather, Tsai Ya Au, who was my biggest mentor during my childhood and shaped the way I am today with values such as honor, integrity, kindness, trustworthiness and respect.”
In 2022, Wen and his family donated $20 million to UCI Health to support the Joe C. Wen & Family Center for Advanced Care, an outpatient clinical facility at the new UCI Health — Irvine complex. The center opened in April on the UC Irvine campus and brings specialty clinical expertise closer to coastal and south Orange County residents.
About the Joe C. Wen School of Population & Public Health
With about 1,300 undergraduates, 200 graduate students and 200 faculty and staff, the Joe C. Wen School of Population & Public Health has one of the largest and most diverse undergraduate public health programs in the country. It also houses a growing Master of Public Health program and rigorous doctoral programs in public health, epidemiology and environmental health sciences.
“The support of the University of California in making our program a school and now this incredibly generous gift from Joe C. Wen will elevate our profile nationally among schools and programs of public health,” said Bernadette Boden-Albala, founding dean of the Joe C. Wen School of Population & Public Health. “The hard work and dedication of our faculty, staff and students and the entire campus in becoming a school are further being recognized through this transformative gift.”
The Joe C. Wen School of Population & Public Health, grounded in community engagement through a health equity lens, has four distinct departments: environmental and occupational health; epidemiology and biostatistics; health, society and behavior; and population health and disease prevention. It stresses a multidisciplinary approach to both learning and practice. Students explore epidemiology, genetics, health informatics, biostatistics, nutrition sciences, chronic and infectious diseases, environmental and global health sciences, social and behavioral health sciences, and health policy and administration. The school’s strong and growing research portfolio allows students to explore critical public health issues.
Faculty members and alumni are pioneers in crucial areas of public health, taking part in innovative research, policy analysis, global health assessments, environmental and occupational health studies, and clinical and translational sciences that impact Orange County and beyond. More than anything, the Joe C. Wen School of Population & Public Health is committed to advancing a philosophy that rests on community engagement and sustainable solutions that are co-created with its valued community members.
About the Mary & Steve Wen Cardiovascular Division and the Tsai Ya Au Heart & Vascular Pavilion
The Mary & Steve Wen Cardiovascular Division at the School of Medicine is dedicated to the diagnosis, management and prevention of cardiovascular disease, a leading cause of death in the U.S. Division faculty members offer outstanding patient care, conduct leading-edge research and deliver specialized training for the next generation of cardiologists in Orange County and beyond.
“This generous gift allows the School of Medicine to continue its pursuit of excellence in advancing cardiovascular health through superior patient care, groundbreaking research and the comprehensive education of future physicians,” said Dr. Michael J. Stamos, dean of the School of Medicine. “Together with the state-of-the-art facilities at the heart and vascular pavilion, we are setting new standards in cardiac care in Southern California and making significant strides toward a healthier future for all.”
The division’s faculty members are board-certified in cardiovascular disease and other cardiology subspecialties. Nationally and internationally recognized, they are highly skilled in the diagnosis and management of a broad range of heart diseases and work collaboratively with UCI Health cardiothoracic and vascular surgeons at UCI Medical Center, each year treating thousands of patients, most of whom have complex medical conditions.
The Tsai Ya Au Heart & Vascular Pavilion at UCI Medical Center is a one-stop shop for diagnosing and treating all conditions of the heart and vascular system.
Their heart specialists diagnose and treat all conditions of the heart and vascular system with state-of-the-art technology and expertise that is unmatched in Orange County and the region.
Orange County’s most advanced cardiovascular disease services program offers a full range of procedures and devices for patients with severe heart problems. These include: preventive cardiology services, an interventional cardiology services team, cardiac arrhythmia services specialists and heart failure services experts.
The American Heart Association has also designated UCI Health as a Comprehensive Hypertension Center, one of only four healthcare facilities in California to earn this designation.
More than 40,000 patient visits, including cardiovascular tests, exams and procedures, were conducted last year at UCI Health locations, including the Tsai Ya Au Heart & Vascular Pavilion at UCI Medical Center.
“UCI Medical Center has become one of California’s leading centers for heart care,” said Chad T. Lefteris, president and CEO of UCI Health. “The support of Joe C. Wen furthers our commitment to providing the most innovative and comprehensive range of interventional and noninterventional complex care available.”
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UCI Health, one of California’s largest academic health systems, is the clinical enterprise of the University of California, Irvine. The system comprises its main campus UCI Medical Center, a 459-bed, acute care hospital in in Orange, Calif., four hospitals and affiliated physicians of the UCI Health Community Network in Orange and Los Angeles counties and ambulatory care centers across the region. Recognized as a Top Hospital by The Leapfrog Group, UCI Medical Center provides tertiary and quaternary care and is home to Orange County’s only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center, high-risk perinatal/neonatal program and American College of Surgeons-verified Level I adult and Level II pediatric trauma center, gold level 1 geriatric emergency department and regional burn center. UCI Health serves a region of nearly 4 million people in Orange County, western Riverside County and southeast Los Angeles County. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter.
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