Reeve—Irvine Research Center

THE REEVE—IRVINE RESEARCH Center (RIRC) is a medical institute located at the University of California, Irvine (UCI), and has a mission to

The center is named after the actor Christopher Reeve (1952–2004), who suffered a horse—riding accident that left him paralyzed from the neck down and that indirectly led to his early death from cardiac arrest. He had been a very active person, taking not just his equestrian eventing very seriously but also being a pilot and a sailor, among other sports.

For the remainder of his life, Reeve was a proponent of stem cell research and other forms of [Page 448]spinal cord injury research, which he hoped would create treatments able to help him and other victims of similar injuries. He used his charisma and presence to raise the profile of the injury and its victims, and his memory represents a continuing inspiration to people working at the center.

It was Joan Irvine Smith, a philanthropist, who led the campaign to establish a research center in the name of the actor. Smith is also a noted supporter of equestrian events and provided grants to UCI totaling some US$1 million, with UCI charged with raising an additional US$2 million for the operation of the center. This occurred in 1996 (Reeve suffered his accident in 1995), and the invitation was accepted by both the university and the actor. By 1999, important personnel were in place and work began, with tangible results flowing from the research beginning in 2000. The RIRC has, in the years since, gone from strength to strength.

It was through Smith's previous efforts that UCI was founded as an institution, as she provided 1,000 acres of land, which is now the university's home. Although philanthropy is not, of course, limited to the United States, the country does have a tradition of those who have been materially successful giving back to society that is not replicated in many other countries and that, as in this case, represents a causative function that can stimulate the creation and nurturing of collaborative relationships.