 "Photo: Joey Castillo")
Dell launched his company, Dell Inc., from his University of Texas dorm room in 1984 and dropped out his freshman year.
The Dell Pediatric Research Institute will be located on the former Robert Mueller Municipal Airport site and will be completed within three years. A $38 million portion of the gift will be directed towards the institute, to be matched in funding by the University through private donations. The Dell foundation will match the University's private donations with additional funding. The remaining cost will be raised through alternative funds, said UT System Chancellor Mark Yudof.
The focus of the institution will be the research and advancement of pediatric health and biomedical research and will change both UT and Austin's role in the field, said James R. Huffines, chairman of the Board of Regents.
"We fully expect the city of Austin to be a leader in pediatric care," Huffines said.
The Dell Computer Science Hall will be located on the main campus and will receive $10 million from the Dell Foundation. Construction will begin once the remaining $57 million is raised by the University from a combination of private and public sources, Yudof said.
The construction of the $67 million computer science hall will help UT's computer science department become one of the best in the nation, said UT President Bill Powers. Attracting top-notch faculty will be a benefit of the hall's construction, he said.
"The students also will benefit because [the Dell Computer Science Hall] will help attract the very best faculty," Powers said.
The remaining $2 million will benefit the UT Health Science Center at Houston's School of Public Health. A center for public health research, education and service will be established in Austin, with plans to promote healthy living, focusing first on the issue of childhood obesity, Huffines said.
With members of the their family present, Michael and Susan Dell expressed the necessity of promoting the advancement of science and math locally.
"We feel fortunate to be a part of these efforts," Susan Dell said.
The largest gift ever donated to the University was $232 million left to the School of Geosciences from the estate of alumnus John A. Jackson in 2003.
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