The University of Oklahoma has received a $150 million gift from Harold Hamm, marking the largest single gift in university history and bringing Hamm’s lifetime giving to OU to nearly $250 million.
The commitment will support health education, research and discovery, workforce development and efforts to address major public health challenges across Oklahoma. In recognition of Hamm’s support, OU’s Health Campus in Oklahoma City will be renamed the Harold Hamm Health Campus at the University of Oklahoma.
Of the $150 million commitment, $50 million will support the next phase of research at the Harold Hamm Diabetes Center. The remaining $100 million will support the broader academic and research enterprise of the Health Campus.
Within the diabetes center commitment, $30 million will support newly recruited executive director John P. Kirwan and his priorities for advancing the center, while $20 million will fund capital improvements and research infrastructure.
Hamm helped establish the Harold Hamm Diabetes Center in 2007 after being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. Since then, he has invested more than $50 million in the effort. NIH research funding associated with the center has increased from $5 million to $33 million since its founding.
The Health Campus brings together six health professions colleges, OU’s Graduate College, more than 4,100 students and a growing community of researchers, educators and clinicians. OU said the campus educates approximately 80% of Oklahoma’s health care workforce.
The university is also expanding research through Project 200, an initiative to recruit more than 200 researchers. About 150 of those recruits are expected to work on the Health Campus across areas including diabetes and metabolic disease, cancer and neuroscience.
OU’s overall research activity has increased more than 70% over the past six years. The Health Campus recently earned its first Top 100 national ranking in NIH funding, placing it among the top 4% of institutions receiving NIH support, according to the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research.
OU Health, the university’s clinical partner, now handles more than 1 million patient visits annually. The university expects additional researcher and physician-scientist recruitment to create more opportunities for clinical trials and advanced treatments.
KEY QUOTES:
“Harold Hamm is a global visionary who has spent his life seeing what is possible and having the courage to act on it. His remarkable story embodies the American Dream, and the ambition and determination that define Oklahoma. Today, he sees a university, a state and a community that have built the people, partnerships and capacity to change the trajectory of health in Oklahoma. This gift is about far more than its historic size. It is Harold’s belief in what is now possible and an invitation to all of us to seize this moment and improve lives for generations to come.”
Joseph Harroz Jr., President of the University of Oklahoma
“Our goal is simple: turn what we learn in the research lab into better care at the bedside. Bringing more leading researchers and physician-scientists to Oklahoma through Project 200 means more clinical trials, new treatments and the latest discoveries reaching our patients sooner. Harold Hamm’s investment will accelerate that work for Oklahomans.”
Jonathan W. Curtright, President and CEO of OU Health
“The Harold Hamm Diabetes Center was built on the belief that bringing together the best minds and giving them the resources to pursue bold ideas can change lives and ultimately cure diabetes. We’ve come a long way in our fight against diabetes, but I believe our most important discoveries are still ahead of us.”
“The greatest things this country has ever accomplished started with people willing to believe something better was possible, and then willing to do the work to make it happen. I’ve spent my life believing that when you see an opportunity to change the future, you don’t stand on the sidelines, you act. Oklahoma has given me more than I could ever repay, and I can think of no greater investment than in the health and lives of its people. We have an extraordinary opportunity right now to bring the very best minds in medicine and science to Oklahoma, give them the resources to pursue discoveries that once seemed impossible, and build something here that can change lives far beyond our state. My hope is that this gift will help make Oklahoma a place where the next great medical breakthrough happens, where diseases are prevented, lives are saved and, one day, diseases like diabetes are cured. That is a legacy worth building.”
Harold Hamm
“This is a moment decades in the making. Harold’s investment builds on the commitment of countless people and partners who have helped strengthen health education, research and patient care in Oklahoma. It gives us the opportunity to move faster and aim higher, and it is an invitation for others to join us in what comes next. Together, we have the opportunity to reduce suffering, save lives and build a healthier future for Oklahoma.”
Gary Raskob, Senior Vice President and Provost of the Harold Hamm Health Campus
