Bay Area tech executives Kathy Chiao and Ken Hao are putting serious money behind the region's furry family members, giving $75 million to the University of California, Davis to expand and staff its veterinary campus. The gift is slated to support scholarships, research and financial assistance for pet owners as the school prepares a major buildout of its clinical and educational facilities. It is the latest big private donation aimed at expanding specialty animal care and training in Northern California.
According to the Sacramento Business Journal, the couple's gift includes funding for a new primary-care veterinary hospital and an adjacent education pavilion, and the outlet published a rendering of the planned expansion. The new hospital is reported to be slated for a 2030 opening.
UC Davis has been rolling out a phased expansion of its veterinary medical complex, with philanthropy doing much of the heavy lifting, university officials said. UC Davis notes that donor support has already paid for new imaging and surgical centers, and current plans will add more classroom and clinical space. Dean Mark Stetter said the project "lays the foundation for a future without limits."
What the gift will fund
The $75 million donation will seed scholarships for veterinary students, bolster research programs and create funds to help pet owners cover the cost of care, according to the Sacramento Business Journal. The goal is to widen access to specialty services while supporting hands-on training for future clinicians.
Why this matters
The school has framed the expansion as a direct response to a national shortage of veterinarians and a surge in demand for specialty care. UC Davis says the buildout will allow its DVM program to grow from about 600 to 800 students and increase annual patient capacity from roughly 50,000 to around 70,000 - changes that could expand the regional pipeline of specialists and open up more appointment slots for pet owners.
The donation speeds up planning for the veterinary campus and joins a series of major philanthropic investments in animal health at UC Davis. University and donor representatives are expected to release more details on naming, phased construction and program rollout as plans move ahead.
