Couple's Gift Of $5 Million To Fund UW Endowments

A Nevada couple have given more than $5 million to the University of Washington. It is among the five largest gifts the school has received from living individuals.

The gift comes from Durward and Susan Huckabay of Reno, who in 1990 sold their chemical business to Pioneer Americas Inc., becoming substantial shareholders in Pioneer.

In March, they contributed more than 80,000 shares of that stock to the university.

Last month, Pioneer was purchased by GEV Corp., and the terms of the transaction included the purchase of the university's shares of stock.

Money from the stock sale will be used to set up four new endowments:

-- The Durward and Susan Huckabay Endowed Fellowship to support graduate students in any field of study at the university.

-- The James W. Mifflin University Professorship in honor of Susan Huckabay's stepfather.

-- The Russell F. Stark University Professorship in honor of her father.

-- The Durward A. Huckabay M.D. Endowed Fund in the School of Medicine, named after Durward Huckabay's father, to provide scholarships for medical students and other activities as the dean sees fit.

Mifflin received his entire college education from the UW, where he earned a law degree in 1936. In 1960, he was appointed a King County Superior Court judge and served until he retired in 1980. He also taught law at the UW.

Stark also graduated from the UW Law School in 1927 and then practiced law in this state until he retired.

Susan and Durward Huckabay attended the UW in the 1940s.

Matching funds available for the two professorships and the graduate fellowship will increase the Huckabays' gift by $750,000.

That was the good news the UW regents received at their board meeting yesterday. The bad news was that the university could lose tens of millions of dollars under federal budget cuts being considered in Congress.

If reductions are made in areas under discussion in Congress, the UW's estimated loss could include $5 million to $10 million less in student financial aid, $10 million less in the indirect cost of medical education and about $45 million from its $460 million research budget, the board was told.

Of that $45 million, $10 million would represent indirect cost, which is part of the UW's central budget and $35 million would be in direct research support to faculty members for such things as salaries and supplies to teach graduate students.