A pair of Austin residents have donated $100 million to the University of Texas at Austin’s planned academic medical center. The gift is one of the largest in UT Austin’s history, according to university representatives.
The new medical center is set to include a hospital focused on complex and serious conditions and a location of MD Anderson Cancer Center.
The donation came from venture capitalist Tench Coxe, who is known for his involvement with the chipmaker Nvidia and is a part-owner of Austin FC, and his wife, Simone Coxe, who works with several nonprofits. Coxe said they were motivated to support the project after watching a friend travel all the way to Houston to receive cancer care.
“I hope in 25 years people say that UT is one of the great medical centers in the world, and it's benefiting the whole community,” Tench Coxe said in a video shared by UT.
While it was initially announced that UT would build the new medical center in downtown Austin at the site of the former Frank Erwin Center, the UT Board of Regents said in November that it was also considering a separate, undisclosed location close to the Domain. According to a Dell Medical School representative, the Coxes’ gift is unrestricted and will support the project “regardless of site selection.”
Simone Coxe said this investment aligned with the Coxes’ passion for seeding projects and helping to get them off the ground. The couple also expressed enthusiasm for supporting the vision of Claudia Lucchinetti, UT’s senior vice president for medical affairs and dean of Dell Medical School.
“We believe in the value of UT Medical Center, both in terms of delivering services to Austin citizens and also changing the model for health care — so let's get going,” Simone said in the video.
The project is expected to be complete by 2030.
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