W. M. Keck Foundation
American charitable foundation
The W. M. Keck Foundation is an American charitable foundation supporting scientific, engineering, and medical research in the United States. It was founded in 1954 by William Myron Keck, founder and president of Superior Oil Company (part of ExxonMobil since 1999). The Foundation's net assets exceeded $1.3 billion at the end of 2019.
Overview
From its founding until his death in 1964, the Foundation was led by William Myron Keck. From 1964 to 1995, it was led by W. M. Keck's son, Howard B. Keck. Robert Addison Day, W. M. Keck's grandson, became its president and chairman in 1995. He continued to serve as its chairman until his death in 2023.
The foundation is led by Joseph Day and Stephen M. Keck.
The Foundation provides grants in five broad areas: science and engineering research, undergraduate science and engineering, medical research, liberal arts, in Southern California. Some of the more notable projects that have received funding from the Keck Foundation include:
2017: The Keck Center for Science and Engineering, at Chapman University, $21 million
2015: The Keck Laboratory for Network Physiology at Boston University, $1 million
The W. M. Keck Center for Language Study at Colgate University
The Keck Center for International and Strategic Studies of Claremont McKenna College (the alma mater of Robert Addison Day, William Myron Keck's grandson, and chairman and president of W. M. Keck Foundation)
The W.M. Keck Science Department of Claremont McKenna College, Pitzer College, and Scripps College.
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The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 31, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2536738. VIAF identifies the subject as 148967185. The Library of Congress control number is n83234602. 3 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1954, 1999, 2019 and 1964.
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