UCSD gets large gift

The late wife of the founder of UCSD’s mathematics department left the university $1 million in her trust, it was announced Thursday.

The gift from Ilse Warschawski will be split between the department of mathematics and the Moores Cancer Center, according to UCSD. It is in honor of her late husband, Stefan Warschawski, who founded the university’s department of mathematics nearly five decades ago, according to UCSD.

To recruit outstanding faculty to the department which her husband founded, Ilse’s gift will establish an endowed faculty chair in UC San Diego’s department of mathematics.

The Moores Center will use the funding to help recruit leading physicians and researchers devoted to basic and clinical cancer research, providing advanced patient care and serving the community through outreach and education programs.

In 1963, the couple arrived at the fledgling campus and built the math department from the ground up. They had lived in La Jolla.

University officials recalled that Ilse entertained potential professors and scholars in her home--with parties large and small--to help attract the most outstanding scholars to UC San Diego.

“Steve Warschawski was the first and only faculty member in the department when he came to campus in 1963,” said Sam Buss, chair of the mathematics department. “The close-knit foundation that Steve and Ilse fostered is still evident today. With her gift, Ilse has left a lasting impression on the department, as faculty recruitment is absolutely essential to its continued advancement.”