UCI receives gift

The estate of Sylvia Holden Robb, a longtime supporter of UC Irvine, has donated about $1.86 million to the university’s libraries and medical school.

The gift, which UCI announced Wednesday, will be split evenly, with $928,000 benefiting a discretionary fund for the School of Medicine and an equal amount creating an endowed library fund in Robb’s name.

The endowed fund will provide support for the libraries’ collections, services and facilities.

Julie Sully, associate director of development for UCI libraries, said the gift from Robb’s estate will provide a welcome boost as the campus continues to expand.

“Because it’s an endowment, it will provide ongoing support for many years to come,” she said. “It’s needed because UCI is growing so dramatically and the library must also grow.”

David Bailey, the newly appointed dean of the university’s medical school, said the estate’s donation will help UCI apply for programs that require matching funding.

“I am absolutely delighted to receive this gift during my very first week at UC Irvine, and I thank the Robb estate,” he said in a news release.

Robb and her family have been honored with two namesakes at UCI.

She previously established the Sylvia Holden Robb Library Collections Endowed Fund, while the Roger C. Holden Graduate and Faculty Reading Room at the Langson Library is named after her first husband, who died in 1968.

Robb, a San Clemente resident, died last year at 97.