Support for LAist comes from
Local and national news, NPR, things to do, food recommendations and guides to Los Angeles, Orange County and the Inland Empire
Stay Connected
Listen

Share This

Education

Barbra Streisand Funds UCLA Institute To Study Social Issues

Barbra Streisand is shown onstage speaking into a microphone. She wears a long-sleeved black sequined gown and matching beret-style hat.
Barbra Streisand speaks onstage during the 91st Annual Academy Awards at Dolby Theatre on February 24, 2019.
(
Kevin Winter
/
Getty Images
)

Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.

Barbra Streisand is best known for her long career as a singer-songwriter, an actress and a filmmaker. But she's also a philanthropist, and she recently made a major gift to UCLA.

The new Barbara Streisand Institute will include four research centers that cover a wide range of social issues, from climate change to gender roles and power dynamics.

In tweet from her official account, Streisand said:

Support for LAist comes from

Darnell Hunt, dean of UCLA's division of social sciences, said this gift will make it possible to launch large-scale research projects.

"Barbra is very interested in having impact, and really getting the findings from our research out into the public so that we can impact public policy, the way people are thinking about these issues," he said. "We can change the discourse around a number of these topics."

UCLA has not disclosed the exact dollar amount of the gift, but Hunt says it creates an endowment so that the work of the Streisand Institute can continue for years to come.

As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.

Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.

We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.

No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.

Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.

Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.

Chip in now to fund your local journalism
A row of graphics payment types: Visa, MasterCard, Apple Pay and PayPal, and  below a lock with Secure Payment text to the right
(
LAist
)

Trending on LAist