Billionaire couple's $50 million gift leads to new UC Davis research centre

A philanthropic pledge announced in 2022 has now taken physical shape at the University of California, Davis, where a new agricultural research centre opened its doors in May 2026. The facility, named after California philanthropists Lynda and Stewart Resnick, follows their $50 million donation to the university, the largest contribution it had received from individual donors at the time.

Designed to bring agricultural science, technology and education under one roof, the building will support work on crop resilience, resource efficiency and food production. Four years after the original announcement, the project has moved from a proposed research hub to a completed campus facility, with laboratories and learning spaces intended for students and researchers.How the Resnicks' $50 million donation funded a new agricultural research centreThis began in October 2022, when UC Davis announced that Lynda and Stewart Resnick had pledged $50 million towards agricultural research and innovation.