Philanthropist donated millions to worthy causes at UC Davis and in the Sacramento region
(SACRAMENTO)
UC Davis marks the loss of a tremendous friend and visionary with the passing of Ernest E. Tschannen. Tschannen died recently at the age of 101. He was a philanthropist who donated millions to worthy causes, including UC Davis Health, the American River Parkway Foundation, the Tahoe-Pyramid Bikeway, California State University, Sacramento, and other organizations throughout Northern California and Nevada.
During the Eye Center dedication, Ernest E. Tschannen said he hoped the new facility would help people have better health and better lives for generations to come.
Tschannen’s historic $38.5 million gift to the UC Davis Eye Center led to the creation of the world-class facility on the Sacramento campus, the Ernest E. Tschannen Eye Institute Building.
In his remarks at the ribbon-cutting and building dedication in October 2022, Tschannen said he hoped the facility would help people have better health and better lives for generations to come.
“Ernest Tschannen’s philanthropy embodied a clear vision: He wanted to improve the world for future generations,” said UC Davis Chancellor Gary S. May. “He built a fortune and yet lived modestly. He chose to direct his resources toward improving the causes he cared about most. We are thankful he helped UC Davis achieve our vision for a world-class eye center in Sacramento.”
Michele Lim with Ernest Tschannen as he shakes hands with Chancellor Gary S. May during the building dedication in 2022.
Swiss native immigrated to Canada, then U.S.
Born in 1925, Tschannen (pronounced “Shannon”) grew up in the small town of Aarwangen, Switzerland. He immigrated to Canada in the 1950s and eventually moved to the American Midwest, settling in Minnesota.
There, he worked as a mechanical engineer and began purchasing investment properties. It was a hobby that turned into a successful and lucrative career. Tschannen moved to the Sacramento area in the mid-1980s and participated in the area’s growing economy.
Tschannen was a pescetarian and an outdoor enthusiast who walked six miles a day. In 2000, he noticed he was losing some of his vision.
He was diagnosed with glaucoma. When the eyedrops he had been prescribed to treat it stopped working, he was referred to UC Davis Health.
Tschannen met with ophthalmologist and eye surgeon Michele C. Lim. Lim is vice chair and medical director of the UC Davis Eye Center. Lim performed surgery on Tschannen, which prevented further vision loss from glaucoma. As a token of his gratitude — and to help others with glaucoma and other types of vision loss — Tschannen gave UC Davis a historic $38.5 million gift.
The Ernest E. Tschannen Eye Institute Building on the UC Davis Health Sacramento campus.
Institute significantly increased capacity to treat patients
Tschannen was the very first patient to have an eye exam in the building bearing his name when it opened in December 2022.
The 78,500-square-foot, four-story Ernest E. Tschannen Eye Institute Building includes dedicated space for the UC Davis Eye Center clinic and operations, physician offices and conference areas. The beautiful building was thoughtfully designed with high-contrast colors and textures to help people with low vision find their way around more easily.
The new facility expanded the clinic from 25 exam rooms to 64 and increased the number of imaging rooms from 17 to 24.
A clinic on the second floor is dedicated to refractive surgery and oculoplastic surgery. The building also houses researchers funded by the National Eye Institute and the Center of Ocular Regenerative Therapies.
