Alumni Relations
Faculty Highlights
The T.Z. and Irmgard Chu Endowed Chair in Chemistry
An extraordinary gesture
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Irmgard and T.Z. Chu |
T.Z. and Irmgard Chu have always been modest about their
giving—but never modest in the amounts they gave—ever since they first
started supporting the college in 1983. Their giving has been unrestricted,
and it was the college’s idea to name a chair in chemistry in their honor,
as both recognition for their generosity and inspiration for others.
Born in Shanghai, T.Z. and his family fled communism in
the late 1940s. He found sanctuary at the Woodstock School in Mussoorie,
India, graduating in 1952. T.Z. came to Berkeley because he had a cousin
at Caltech and his parents, unfamiliar with California geography, thought
that it was nearby. It was the college’s good fortune.
His affection for his alma mater, however, was not immediate.
Competing with Korean War vets who were eager to make up for lost years,
T.Z. worked hard; for him, Berkeley was not a place of fraternity parties
and good times. But he learned chemistry from his professors and much
about life and other cultures from his fellow students, and in time he
came to appreciate that his Berkeley experience had prepared him well
for the technological world that was on the horizon.
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“Our contributions to the College of Chemistry did not require any recognition nor did we expect any. We were simply trying to return in a small way to the institution that had made my rewarding career in analytical instrumentation possible. To have a chair named after us was...overwhelming.” |
Graduating in 1958 with a B.S. in chemistry, he worked
for Varian and a predecessor company making gas and liquid chromatographs
before becoming co-founder of Finnigan Corporation, a leading manufacturer
of mass spectrometer systems, in 1968. T.Z. retired from Finnigan two
years after they were bought out by Thermo Electronics in 1990. He became
a venture capitalist, and then in 1993 he became CEO of Hoefer Scientific,
which in turn was bought out by the instrument subsidiary of Upjohn/Pharmacia,
from which he retired (again) in 1997.
He met his wife, Irmgard, while he was establishing European
operations for his company in her native Switzerland. They were married
and in the mid-1960s she came to California.
T.Z. and Irmgard responded to the College of Chemistry’s
first fundraising appeal in 1983, and they have been dedicated supporters
of, and volunteers for, the college and University ever since. T.Z. was
involved in the campus’ first capital campaign, and he was active in the
New Century Campaign. He gave a sizable gift to help the college meet
a Kresge Challenge grant for Tan Hall, and in 1995 he notified the college
that he had included it in his estate plans. Two years later, he accepted
an appointment as a Trustee of the University of California, Berkeley
Foundation, serving until this year, while also serving on the College
Advisory Board. In 1999 the Chus established a Charitable Remainder Unitrust
with some property that they owned, naming the college as beneficiary.
Wanting to help the campaign but hoping to wait out the downturn in the
market, they pledged an additional $500,000 in unrestricted funding for
the college in September 2000—a pledge more than fulfilled in 2003 with
a gift of stock.
And then came an extraordinary gesture: in response to
the poor budgetary news this past year, they terminated their own life
interest in their unitrust, resulting in more than a half-million dollars
of discretionary funding for the dean this past year. To date, they have
donated more than $1.15 million, most of it designated for unrestricted
use in the College of Chemistry. The Dean has used some of this funding
for the chemical biology program and some to help with the establishment
of another endowed chair. In 2001 the UC Berkeley Foundation awarded T.Z.
the Trustees’ Citation for his philanthropic leadership, and this year
the College is pleased to recognize the Chus with the establishment of
an endowed chair.
by Jane Scheiber
