Utah Jazz owner and businessman Larry H. Miller has donated $10 million for cancer research and patient care, the Huntsman Cancer Foundation announced Wednesday. The money will help fund the Huntsman Cancer Institute and the new Huntsman Cancer Hospital.
"Ten million dollars is an extraordinary gift, both in terms of its generosity and what it will allow us to do," HCI executive director Dr. Stephen Prescott said. "It's a major gift."
In a press release issued by the foundation, Miller said that Utah industrialist and philanthropist Jon Huntsman told him once that he wanted to wipe out cancer in his lifetime. "That's a tall order," Miller said, "but he dreams big, and he makes others believe in his dreams."
Miller and Huntsman, whose names and holdings are among the most recognizable in the state, have been friends for many years. Miller, who owns 40 car dealerships in six states, plus the Utah Jazz, KJZZ-TV and the Delta Center, made the donation to the Huntsman Cancer Foundation after he and his family took a tour of the Huntsman Cancer Hospital earlier this spring while it was still under construction.
"He's a very warm and generous man," Prescott said about Miller. "After the tour, he said, 'Gee, we really want to help with this.' "
The 276,000-square-foot hospital, which will be officially dedicated Monday. will be the only cancer specialty hospital in the Intermountain West. It will house all oncology services for the University of Utah Health Sciences Center.