Alumni Pledge $35 Million to Support ICS Students

I am delighted to announce that UCI has received a pledge of approximately $35.5 million from alumni Paul and Jo Butterworth to elevate the student experience in the Donald Bren School of Information & Computer Sciences. This is the largest gift from alumni in our history.

The funds will be allocated in a variety of ways, including scholarships and fellowships for students, the hiring of new faculty, and financial backing for new research initiatives.

The Butterworths are longtime and dedicated supporters of UCI. They have sponsored the Butterworth Product Development Competition, designed to encourage the creation of new technologies with potential for commercialization, in the Bren School since 2004. Mr. Butterworth, co-founder and chief technology officer of enterprise software developer Vantiq Inc., has been a member of the UCI Foundation Board of Trustees since 2011 and has served on the Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences Leadership Council since 2005. He received the UCI Alumni Association Lauds and Laurels Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2005, and in 2015 he was inducted into the Bren School’s Hall of Fame. He earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in computer science, and Jo Butterworth received her bachelor’s degree from the School of Social Sciences.

Please join me in expressing our deepest gratitude to Paul and Jo Butterworth for their continued philanthropy and friendship.

Chancellor Howard Gillman