David Murdock, the billionaire owner of Dole Food and founder of the $1.5 billion N.C. Research Campus in Kannapolis, will announce another gift to the campus on Wednesday.
The size of the gift was not disclosed.
Murdock’s investment in the campus already tops $700 million.
The NCRC disclosed early Monday that Murdock would announce an endowment for the David H. Murdock Research Institute at a press conference Wednesday afternoon at the Washington Duke Inn and Golf Club in Durham.
“The endowment will be an additional philanthropic gift from Mr. Murdock to the DHMRI and NCRC in order to advance scientific research into human health, nutrition and agriculture,” the NCRC said in the announcement.
According to a spokesperson for the campus, Murdock has invested more than $131 million in the DHMRI, $35 million in the ongoing MURDOCK Study of personal health and $600 million to develop the campus.
Murdock first announced plans for what was then called a “biopolis” in 2005. The campus opened in 2008.
The event is set to start at 3:30 p.m.
The audience will include the heads of both Duke University and UNC-Chapel Hill as well as a vice chancellor from N.C. State.
All of the universities are partners with Murdock with research buildings and operations at the campus, which is located on property once covered by a huge textile mill.
Also participating will be:
• Victor J. Dzau, MD, President and CEO, Duke University Health System
• Thomas W. Ross, President, University of North Carolina
• Steven Lommel, PhD, Interim President, David H. Murdock Research Institute and Assistant Vice Chancellor for Research, NC State University
• Robert M. Califf, MD, Vice Chancellor for Clinical and Translational Research, Duke University Medical Center
• Lynne Scott Safrit, President, Castle & Cooke, NC, LLC
Castle & Cooke is the development firm owned by Murdock that has developed the NCRC as well as other sites.
In 2007, Murdock made a $35 million gift to Duke for cancer research.
