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UT Southwestern has renamed its Outpatient Building on West Campus the William T. Solomon Outpatient Building to honor the service, leadership, and contributions of the longtime UTSW champion and CEO of the O\u2019Donnell Foundation.<\/p>\n
DALLAS \u2013 Oct. 15, 2026 \u2013 The O\u2019Donnell Foundation\u2019s legacy of support for UT\u00a0Southwestern Medical Center will reach nearly $400 million with a capstone gift of its remaining assets, completing more than half a century of philanthropy that has advanced biomedical discovery, medical education, and patient care.<\/p>\n
The capstone gift follows a recent gift of oil-producing lands in West Texas to Southwestern Medical Foundation, with annual earnings to benefit UT\u00a0Southwestern. Together, these gifts extend the vision of the late Edith and Peter O\u2019Donnell Jr. as the O\u2019Donnell Foundation concludes its work as the largest donor in UT\u00a0Southwestern\u2019s history.<\/p>\n
For Edith and Peter O\u2019Donnell Jr., philanthropy was a deeply considered investment in the future. They sought out talented scientists, identified opportunities to address significant needs, and sustained their support so promising ideas could develop into meaningful advances. Their decades-long partnership with UT\u00a0Southwestern reflected a conviction that investing in scientific discovery and medical education could improve lives for generations to come.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeter and Edith helped foster an environment of innovation and discovery at UT\u00a0Southwestern that has enabled transformative progress in biomedical research,\u201d said Daniel K. Podolsky, M.D.<\/a>, President of UT\u00a0Southwestern. \u201cThey understood the importance of assembling the best and brightest researchers to tackle medicine\u2019s most pressing problems. Their devotion to excellence and passion for our community inspired bold investments that led to paradigm-shifting discoveries.\u201d<\/p>\n William \u201cBill\u201d Solomon was joined by his wife, Gay, at the naming ceremony on Wednesday, Oct. 14.<\/p>\n UT\u00a0Southwestern is also honoring William T. Solomon, a longtime trustee of the O\u2019Donnell Foundation who has served as its Chairman, President, and CEO since 2016, carrying forward the O\u2019Donnells\u2019 philanthropic vision. With approval from the University of Texas System, UT\u00a0Southwestern has named the William T. Solomon Outpatient Building in honor of his longstanding volunteer service, exceptional stewardship of the O\u2019Donnell Foundation, and his personal philanthropy together with his wife, Gay.<\/p>\n Established in 1957, the O\u2019Donnell Foundation reflected its founders\u2019 belief in investing in exceptional people and ideas. Much of that giving took place quietly, with the couple preferring to direct attention toward the scientists and physicians whose work they supported.<\/p>\n \u201cEdith and Peter were consistent and sincere in their desire to keep their names out of the headlines as much as they could,\u201d said Mr. Solomon, a longtime friend who succeeded Mr. O\u2019Donnell as leader of the Foundation. \u201cThey preferred to do their philanthropy anonymously, and it\u2019s true that over the decades they were nicknamed \u2018Mr. and Mrs. O\u2019nonymous.\u2019 Their legacy of giving wasn\u2019t always obvious, but it was always substantial and impactful.\u201d<\/p>\n The O\u2019Donnells entrusted Mr. Solomon with continuing their philanthropy beyond their lifetimes. Under Mr. Solomon\u2019s leadership, the Foundation invested in the people and programs that would build on the O\u2019Donnells\u2019 longstanding commitment to science and medicine at UT\u00a0Southwestern.<\/p>\n In addition to leading the Foundation, Mr. Solomon and his wife have made their own transformative contributions to UTSW, including endowing the\u00a0Division of General Internal Medicine<\/a> that bears their names and supporting the construction of William P. Clements Jr. University Hospital<\/a>. Naming the outpatient building recognizes both his decades of dedication to UT\u00a0Southwestern and his role in helping shape one of its most enduring philanthropic partnerships.<\/p>\n \u201cBill Solomon, a former Chair of the Board of Trustees of Southwestern Medical Foundation<\/a>, has advanced the O\u2019Donnells\u2019 philanthropic legacy with remarkable care and conviction,\u201d said Michael McMahan, President and CEO of Southwestern Medical Foundation. \u201cWe are deeply grateful for his leadership and service to Southwestern Medical Foundation, and it is especially meaningful to see him honored for his dedication to UT\u00a0Southwestern and all those that it serves.\u201d<\/p>\n The O\u2019Donnell Foundation\u2019s impact spans decades and disciplines. An early major gift endowed the Center for Human Nutrition<\/a> in 1981, enabling ongoing research into nutrition\u2019s role in preventing and treating chronic disease. The Foundation also advanced the research of Michael Brown, M.D.<\/a>, and Joseph Goldstein, M.D.<\/a>, whose discoveries of mechanisms of cholesterol regulation earned them the 1985 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.<\/p>\n \u201cPeter and Edith O\u2019Donnell were maestros of philanthropy, and their support was as enduring as it was widespread,\u201d said Dr. Goldstein, Chair of Molecular Genetics<\/a>. \u201cTheir selection of projects to nurture was based on their focus on excellence, and it was key to the extraordinary impact of their support.\u201d<\/p>\n The Foundation helped establish the Endowed Scholars Program in Medical Science<\/a> to support emerging investigators and helped launch UT\u00a0Southwestern\u2019s Clinical Services Initiative, which strengthened coordination of patient care through an integrated electronic medical record system, making UT\u00a0Southwestern one of the earliest adopters in the country of this emerging technology.<\/p>\n In 2015, the O\u2019Donnells provided a generous lead gift to establish the Peter O\u2019Donnell Jr. Brain Institute<\/a> to advance understanding of the brain and improve treatment of neurological disease. Subsequent gifts enabled comprehensive care coordination for people navigating treatment for brain diseases and the development of innovative clinical neuroscience programs.<\/p>\n In 2022, the Foundation endowed and supported the creation of the Peter O\u2019Donnell Jr. School of Public Health<\/a>, extending its investment from individual discovery and patient care to the health of entire populations.<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/solomons-photo.jpg\")
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