What is True Philanthropy? Â Part 2: When a school takes a name (#513)
- Rick LeCouteur
- 15 minutes ago
- 3 min read
In Part 1 of this series, I explored the idea of philanthropy as it once was - an act of generosity grounded in service rather than donor recognition.
In Part 2, I turn to a contemporary example that brings those questions into sharp focus: the recent renaming of the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine following a historic philanthropic gift.
The intention here is not to question generosity or goodwill, but to examine what changes when a public institution takes a private name, and what that shift may quietly signal about the evolving relationship between money, identity, and higher education.
The questions raised in Part 1 of this series come into sharp focus when philanthropy intersects with real institutions, real people, and real histories.
In January 2026, the University of California, Davis, announced the largest gift ever made to veterinary medicine:
$120 million from Joan and Sanford Weill.
In recognition of that gift, the institution was renamed the:
UC Davis Joan and Sanford I. Weill School of Veterinary Medicine.
The donation will help fund a small animal teaching hospital, expand clinical and research capacity, and support advances in comparative medicine.
By any measure, it is a transformative contribution that will improve patient care, enhance training, and accelerate discovery.
There is no question that the gift will do good.
But the naming of an entire veterinary school marks a turning point worth examining carefully.
A Line That Once Rarely Moved
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Historically, universities have named buildings, chairs, and programs after major donors.
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Naming an entire school has traditionally been reserved for founders or institutions created outright through private philanthropy.
Veterinary schools at public universities, traditionally, have carried identities shaped by:
Public funding,
Professional service,
Alumni contributions, and
State and national mandates.
Their names reflected collective ownership rather than individual legacy.
To rename such an institution - especially one with a global reputation built over decades - signals a shift not just in funding, but in philosophy.
The question is not whether the Weills deserve gratitude.
They do.
The question is whether identity itself should become part of the transaction.
When Gratitude Becomes Structural
Naming is powerful because it is permanent. It outlives leadership. It outlives donors. It outlives context.
Once applied, it reshapes how an institution is perceived by students, faculty, donors, and the public.
Over time, the name becomes inseparable from the mission.
This is where unease arises.
A gift of this magnitude does not merely support a school; it becomes part of the school’s identity. And identity, once altered, is rarely reclaimed.
The concern is not intent.
It is precedent.
If one gift can rename a school, what defines the boundary for the next one?
The Subtle Shift in Power
No donor needs to exert influence directly for influence to exist.
When a school carries a name, certain dynamics emerge naturally:
Heightened deference,
Increased sensitivity to donor relationships,
Reluctance to criticize aligned interests, and
An institutional instinct to protect reputation.
This is not corruption.
It is human behavior.
It occurs quietly, without instruction, through culture rather than policy.
Over time, it shapes what feels discussable, what feels risky, and what feels off-limits.
A Public Institution, A Private Name
UC Davis is a public university.
Its veterinary school has been built by generations of students, clinicians, scientists, staff, and taxpayers.
Its reputation did not emerge from one gift, but from decades of work in classrooms, clinics, barns, and laboratories.
Renaming such an institution raises a difficult but necessary question:
Who owns a public institution’s identity?
The state?
The faculty?
The profession?
The public?
The donor who funds its next chapter?
There is no easy answer. However, avoiding the question altogether does not make it disappear.
Gratitude and Ambivalence Can Coexist
It is possible to feel two things at once:
Gratitude for generosity.
Unease about precedent.
One does not cancel the other.
The Weill gift will undoubtedly improve veterinary medicine. It will help animals, support students, and expand scientific capacity.
But it also marks a moment when veterinary education stepped more fully into a world where naming, branding, and capital are increasingly intertwined.
That shift deserves reflection.
Not celebration alone.
Looking Ahead
In Part 3 of this series, I turn away from institutions and toward people.
Specifically, toward the thousands of alumni, clinicians, staff, and donors whose small, steady contributions sustained veterinary schools long before eight-figure gifts were imaginable, and who may now wonder, quietly, where they fit in the new landscape.
Because the true measure of philanthropy is not only what it builds, but who it leaves standing when the ribbon is cut.
Read More
UC Davis Receives $120M Gift, Largest Ever to Veterinary Medicine. https://www.ucdavis.edu/news uc-davis-receives-120m-gift-largest-ever-veterinary-medicine
One Historic Moment ... Limitless Impact. https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1586313132650646