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Share the history. Secure the future.

Three Nobel Prize winners stand together at the inaugural Associates event at the Athenaeum in 1931. Front row: A. A. Michelson, Albert Einstein, Robert A. Millikan; back row: Walter S. Adams, Walther Mayer, Max Farrand.

To commemorate the centennial anniversary of the Caltech Associates, we have established the Associates 100 Legacy Circle. Like the founding members, this group is exclusively limited to 100 households.

Renewing Our Founding Promise

In the spirit of the benefactors who formed our organization a century ago, Associates 100 Legacy Circle members are each committing $150,000, which provides approximately the same purchasing power as the gifts made in 1926.

  • Your contribution may be made in a single installment or as a pledge of $15,000 annually for 10 years.
  • You may join the Associates 100 Legacy Circle as an individual Associates member or as a household with your spouse or partner.
  • You will receive a gift agreement confirming the terms of your commitment.
  • Your generosity will be acknowledged at events during our centennial year and commemorated on the Associates 100 Legacy Circle donor wall.
  • You will join a historic group securing Caltech's future impact in science, engineering, and technology.

View the Associates 100 Legacy Circle prospectus to learn more about this landmark opportunity. Please don't hesitate to contact us if you have questions.

I can't think of a better way to honor the vision of our founders than by replicating their gifts.

—
Tracy Fu (BS '92)
Associates Board Past President 2023–2024

Recognizing Your Gift

As a member, your generosity will be memorialized on the Associates 100 Legacy Circle donor wall in the Garden of the Associates.

Investing in Innovation

Learn about the inspiration behind the Associates 100 Legacy Circle initiative to propel the next century of discovery at Caltech.

Getting in Touch

If you are ready to join the Associates 100 Legacy Circle or would like to discuss this opportunity, please contact us.

Caltech President Thomas F. Rosenbaum

The celebrated Irish writer James Joyce once observed, "I am today what I established yesterday or some previous day."

In 1926, a group of visionary benefactors came together to establish the Caltech Associates. Over the course of the next century, their sustained, strategic giving advanced every part of the Institute and made it possible for Caltech to become the global scientific leader that it is today.

Joyce similarly observed, "I am tomorrow, or some future day, what I establish today." To ensure that the Institute's future days remain as limitless as the imaginations of its students and faculty, we are delighted to establish the Associates 100 Legacy Circle. At this turbulent time in our nation's history, the new Caltech Associates will ensure that the Institute can continue to answer the call of scientific leadership, respond to emerging challenges, and act as a powerful force for good in the world.

The Caltech Associates have played an indispensable role in the life of the Institute thus far. Today, I invite you to join the Associates 100 Legacy Circle and help shape the Institute's brightest tomorrow.

Sincerely,
Thomas F. Rosenbaum
President
Sonja and William Davidow Presidential Chair and Professor of Physics

Associates 100 Legacy Circle Members

Artist's sketch of the Caltech Associates 100 Legacy Circle Donor Wall
Associates 100 Legacy Circle members will be included on an elegant donor wall memorializing their contributions. This illustration depicts the wall where it will be placed in the "Garden of the Associates" adjacent to Dabney Hall.

Members as of June 5, 2025

John Andelin and Ginger Geoffrey
E. Jane Arnault-Factor
John D. Baldeschwieler and Marlene R. Konnar
David Baltimore and Alice S. Huang
Sondra L. Behrens
Henry A. Blauvelt and Caroline M. Blauvelt
Daniela Bonafede-Chhabra (BS '84) and Ashvin B. Chhabra
Evelyn M. Breakstone and Alan M. Breakstone (BS '72)
Ellen Brown and Ray Merewether
Kim Caldwell and Ginger Caldwell
Stephanie J. Charles (BS '73) and Normand Berube
Margaret Leong Checca and Michael P. Checca
Alan B. Dauger (BS '62) and Marlene C. Dauger
Roger C. Davisson (BS '65, MS '66) and Marjorie Davisson
Chip Fairchild
Lynda Fetter and Blaine Fetter
Beatrice Fu (BS '80) and Sai-Wai Fu (BS '79, MS '80)
Tracy Fu (BS '92) and Sharon Wee
James M. Gerard and Karen J. Gerard
Ruby Grewal
David E. Groce (BS '58, PhD '63) and Barbara Groce

Betty Huang and Shang-Li Huang (MS '69, PhD '76)
Richard A. Karp (BS '64)
Paul L. Lee (BS '67, MS '69, PhD '72) and Amy S. Lee (MS '72, PhD '75)
Karen R. Loschke and Robert C. Loschke
Rhonda L. MacDonald (BS ‘74) and Steven L. Lucas
Michael Mann (BS '60, MS '61) and Joy Mann
J. Howard Marshall Ill (BS '57, PhD '65) and Ilene O. Marshall
Gabriela Neufeld and Timothy L. Neufeld
Beverly B. Nickerson and Bruce G. Nickerson
Michael I. Nissman
Mary S. Otte
Wayne Pfeiffer and Mary Baker
David B. Ritchie and Karen Canaan
Thomas F. Rosenbaum and Katherine T. Faber
Spencer Tien
Tom Tyson (BS '54, PhD '67) and Alice Tyson
Jerrell R. Watts and Alessandra Hill
Lance and Lisa West
John E. Young (BS '56) and Mary N. Young
Jun Teng (BS '92) and Xiaolei Zhu (BS '90)

Please note: The above list of participating member names may not reflect how their gifts will be formally recognized on the final donor wall.
Aerial view of Caltech campus looking north from Caltech Hall

One Hundred Donors Will Propel Caltech's Next Century of Discovery

Inspired by the 1926 founders of the Caltech Associates, 100 years later a new group of philanthropists are coming together to replicate the power of philanthropy used to set Caltech’s distinguished trajectory. Their collective investment will help fuel the continued ambitions of students and faculty of the next generation.

On March 9, 1926, retired railroad magnate and art collector Henry E. Huntington invited 100 of Southern California's most influential men and women to his home in San Marino. While he had hosted many gatherings of the area's social and business leaders before, this one would prove to be historically significant for a nearby institution—and the world.

Continue reading about a new generation of benefactors who are securing Caltech's future.

The Associates 100 Legacy Circle is a profound opportunity to contribute to the Institute's future. Help renew its commitment to educating the brightest minds and investigating the biggest ideas for the next 100 years.

Please contact us if you would like to be a part of this historic initiative. As a reminder, the Associates 100 Legacy Circle is limited to 100 households.