Michael and Susan Dell become first-ever billion-dollar supporters of UT Austin

UT Austin's billion-dollar supporters

Michael and Susan Dell have become UT Austin’s first-ever billion-dollar supporters after announcing a new investment Tuesday morning.

AUSTIN, Texas - Michael and Susan Dell have become UT Austin’s first-ever billion-dollar supporters after announcing a new investment Tuesday morning. 

The Dells’ investment represents one of the largest-ever philanthropic commitments to any U.S. university.

By the numbers:

The University said the Dells’ commitment sets in motion a goal for the university to raise $10 billion in 10 years and rank in the top 10 for medical centers nationally within a decade.

What they're saying:

In the early 1980s, Michael Dell went to UT as a pre-med student.

"That plan got derailed in room 2713, Adobe Center, and I had an idea that I couldn't let go of and that idea became a passion. That passion became Dell Technologies, built by a team that shared a belief that technology can change the world. And so far, it's worked out pretty well," Dell Technologies CEO Michael Dell said.

The Dells’ connection to UT didn’t end. Since, they have been part of nearly 200 projects at UT, including the Dell Computer Science Hall, Dell Medical School, and now a $750 million investment for the UT Dell Campus for Advanced Research, which includes the UT Dell Medical Center.

"This moment matters to us because of how many people it will reach students, discovering what they're capable of, people building careers that matter, and patients getting the care they need when and where they need it," Dell Foundation Board Chair Susan Dell said.

The University said the Medical Center will be built from the ground up, west of the J.J. Pickle Research Campus in Northwest Austin, focusing on prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and discovery through AI and advanced computing.

Michael and Susan Dell have become UT Austin’s first-ever billion-dollar supporters

"There are very deliberate and intentional efforts about how we relook at the curriculum, how you create the simulated environments of working side by side in teams that really consist of humans and robots together providing that care. It's a very different environment. I mean, we're basically flying to the moon, and we need to create that space now to really learn how to do it, but it's happening in real time," Dell Medical School Dean & UT Senior Vice President for Medical Affairs Claudia Lucchinetti said.

The UT Dell Medical Center will integrate MD Anderson into its system, bringing access to cancer care closer for many who currently travel to MD Anderson in Houston.

"Years from now, we will look back and see how medicine was completely transformed, how diseases with no known cure are cured right here, how technology made human life stronger and freer, and how Texans made that real," UT Austin President Jim Davis said.

"In the end, Michael Dell and Susan, together, have educated more doctors and treated more patients than Michael ever could when wearing a white coat," Texas Governor Greg Abbott said.

What's next:

In honor of the Dells’ new investment, the University is establishing the UT Dell Campus for Advanced Research and the UT Dell Medical Center. The new commitments will also provide support for undergraduate student scholarships, student housing, and UT’s Texas Advanced Computer Center.

The University said the UT Dell Campus for Advanced Research will bring together UT’s research strengths, advanced computing capabilities, and clinical care in a fully integrated environment.

The University plans to break ground later this year on the UT Dell Medical Center. It is expected to open in 2030.