The Jungs, both alumni of the School of Pharmacy, have made a $1 million gift to support their alma mater.
“We believe in education,” said Ron Jung, who along with his wife Dianne, recently made a $1 million gift naming the School of Pharmacy’s Dianne Kwock Jung and Lunny Ronnie Jung Centennial Park.
The Jungs are no strangers to the School, both having received their PharmD degrees at USC back in the 70’s. Then and now, they’ve maintained ties with USC even while building a successful pharmacy business and raising two sons in the San Joaquin Valley.
“When our boys were growing up, our lives were very busy with their activities, making it hard for us to get back to campus,” said Ron. “But once they too became Trojans, we reconnected and started going to games and other events.”
Reconnecting with the School is one thing, but giving a $1 million gift is quite another thing.
“We never thought we’d be where we are today,” said Dianne. “We’ve worked very hard and continue to do so running our three pharmacies. But we’ve also realized the importance of estate planning, making it possible to use your money in ways that you believe are important.”
To the Jungs, using the money to further the mission of the School of Pharmacy and perpetuate a good educational system made sense. While both of them are grateful for the opportunities their education at the School opened to them, they hope their gift will do the same for others.
“Our parents emigrated from China, and worked very hard to provide an education for us. They really instilled the value of education in our thinking,” noted Dianne. “And we’ve done the same for our sons.”
Son Nicholas has both medical and undergraduate degrees from USC while son Jason earned both his bachelor’s and MBA at USC’s Marshall School. When deciding on this gift, the Jungs discussed how it would affect their sons and their inheritance.
“We hoped that we have laid a good foundation for our boys, through education and now their professions,” said Dianne. “Now we trust that they’ll build their own legacies through their work as we’ve tried to do.”
The Jungs compare the foundation that they’ve provided to their sons with their gift to the School, seeing it as an asset to the School’s foundation.
As Ronnie put it, “If you don’t plan ahead, you’ll pay more taxes on money. To us, it was very important to identify how we wanted our money spent. And it wasn’t for taxes.”
Working with the School, the Jungs were able to customize a combination gift that provides a portion in cash and a portion through planned giving. Experts at USC Planned Giving designed a gift that met the objectives of the Jungs while supporting the School.
“Working with USC on this gift has really made it a win-win,” said Ronnie. “This was a big decision for us – and having done it, we believe it was the right decision and encourage others who have worked hard to look at the opportunities that a planned gift provides to you and to the School of Pharmacy.”