Jan 13, 2017 08:03 AM EST By Emily Marks, UniversityHerald Reporter

University of California - San Francisco has received a $500 million donation from the late Helen Diller through her foundation. This is one of the largest donations made to the university as well as in the history of other academic institutions.

In its official website, the University of California San Francisco confirmed that the Helen Diller Foundation granted the school with $500 million. This will be used to support faculty and research endeavors of the institution.

This is not the first time that the philanthropist supported the university. In 2003, the Helen Diller Foundation made a $35 million donation for cancer research.

Since then, Diller's foundation has given significant annual donations to University of California - San Francisco. Her organization has also placed a permanent endowment for the Cancer Center in her honor, which totals to over $150 million.

According to SF Gate, Diller died in 2015 at her home in Woodside. Her daughter, Jackie Safier, has said that the unrestricted money is proof that her mother was confident in the leadership as well as in the work of the doctors and scientists in the school.

The funds will be used to provide support for students and faculty. It will also be used for innovation.

$100 million will be used to help current professors as well as recruit faculty. Another $100 million will be used to start the Helen Diller Faculty Scholars program, which is set for early- and mid-career scientists.

$200 million will be set aside to support students at the university's four professional schools: Dentistry, Medicine, Nursing and Pharmacy. It will allow students to be able to have higher education with a minimal amount of debt.

Lastly, $100 million will be used to create an Innovation Fund. This money can be used at the discretion of UCSF's current and future chancellors. UCSF Chancellor Sam Hawgood said that the unrestricted funds allow the school's administration to keep up with the swift changes in the health sciences.

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