Allergan Foundation gives $2M for eye program

UC Irvine has received a $2-million gift from the Allergan Foundation for its department of ophthalmology, adding to a record year of donations at the university.

The gift from the Irvine-based group, which UCI recently honored for supporting local education, will go nominally toward eye research and clinical treatments. In addition, UCI is planning to develop a new campus institute to research eye diseases, and Allergan’s contribution may play a significant role if the UC Regents approve the plan.

“We have a longtime commitment to UCI,” said Heather Katt, manager of corporate communications for Allergan. “Having them here in our backyard, with the great ophthalmology program they have, it just seemed to make sense.”

Allergan Inc., an Irvine-based company devoted to eye treatment, has a close relationship with UCI. Chairman David E. I. Pyott serves on the board of the UCI Foundation. In March, Pyott was one of five Orange County chief executives honored by UCI at its annual “Advocates of the Year” luncheon that recognizes business leaders who have made contributions to education.

The Allergan Foundation, created in 1998, has donated more than $9 million for education, arts and other programs. The $2 million to UCI, which will be paid over a number of years, is one of the largest single gifts the foundation has ever made.

UCI spokesman Bill Ross said the campus hoped to use Allergan’s gift for the planned eye institute, but would possibly have to wait a few years to do so. The research center is not part of UCI’s strategic plan.

“It’s a definite goal,” he said. “We feel that developing a state-of-the-art eye institute would be beneficial to the community, because we have such a strong biotechnical community in Orange County. It would really boost the quality of care and treatment in Orange County, but to actually develop a center is a long, involved process.”

Among those most pleased by the Allergan gift was Chancellor Michael Drake, a licensed ophthalmologist himself. He noted that this year, UCI has raised nearly $90 million in private donations, an all-time campus record.

“A research university like ours looks, in a wide variety of ways, at things that will improve the quality of life for citizens in the future,” Drake said. “Grants like this one help to do that.”