28 Jan 2026
Officials at northern California vet school said the donation, thought to be largest ever in the veterinary field, “launches an exciting new era in veterinary medicine”.
Chris Simpson
Job Title
Artist impression of the planned new veterinary hospital, which will be part funded by the Weill Family Foundation gift of US$120 million.
The University of California, Davis (UC Davis) is set to build a new small animal teaching hospital after its vet school received a staggering US$120 million donation.
Said to be the largest gift ever made to veterinary medicine worldwide, the money was donated by philanthropists Joan and Sanford I Weill through the Weill Family Foundation.
The new hospital will come as part of a revamped veterinary campus, with US$80 million of the funding going toward the new state-of-the-art facility.
UC Davis said the facility will allow it to care for 20,000 additional patients annually, conduct more cutting-edge research and clinical trials, and integrate AI and precision medicine to develop new possibilities in diagnostics, treatment planning and patient outcomes.
The expanded facilities and infrastructure will also help the institution recruit more veterinary students and train more specialists in a range of fields.
The remaining US$40 million will be used to fund clinical research and other projects.
Sanford “Sandy” Weill, who has served on UC Davis chancellor’s board of advisors since 2014, said: “UC Davis is home to one of the world’s most outstanding veterinary schools and many of the brightest minds in animal and human medicine.
“We are proud to support an institution where ground-breaking research and compassionate care are prioritised together, and where discovery benefits both animal and human health.”
The gift took their total donations to the university past US$500 million and their overall philanthropic contributions to educational, medical and cultural institutions to more than US$1.5 billion.
The university has recognised the donation by renaming its vet school the University of California, Davis, Joan and Sanford I Weill School of Veterinary Medicine – or simply the UC Davis Weill School of Veterinary Medicine.
Chancellor Gary May said: “By naming our veterinary school in Joan and Sandy’s honour, we celebrate their transformative generosity and lasting commitment to improve the health of all species.
“UC Davis is world-renowned for excellence in veterinary medicine, research and service. We are deeply grateful for Joan and Sandy’s vision and partnership to help us accelerate the great work taking place here.”
Mark Stetter, dean of the UC Davis Weill School of Veterinary Medicine, added: “Joan and Sandy Weill’s extraordinary generosity will allow UC Davis to move faster, think bigger and rise to meet the most urgent challenges facing our world.
“This gift empowers us to drive discoveries, expand access to world-class education and develop new insights at the intersection of veterinary and human health. It launches an exciting new era in veterinary medicine and provides the catalyst needed to advance the construction of our new hospital. With continued support from our philanthropic community, we can bring this vision to completion.”
