Gifts Create a Lasting Legacy at UCSB

Leonard Broom was a renowned sociology professor who held prominent academic positions at universities in both the U.S. and abroad before becoming an adjunct research professor in the department of sociology at UC Santa Barbara. He and his wife, Gretchan, chose to establish a significant legacy with UCSB by crafting separate planned gifts to support two passions: demography (the statistical study of human populations), and helping to provide housing assistance for new faculty recruited by the university.

Drawing from Professor Broom's own research and working in partnership with UCSB, the Brooms launched The Leonard and Gretchan Broom Center for Demography as an interdisciplinary research center on campus. They also created a bequest in their estate plans to establish an endowment to support the Center, which offers research and training in social demography and population studies. Additionally, the Brooms created and funded The Leonard Broom Chair in Demography to attract a high-level scholar to lead the new Center.

The Brooms also separately created a "retained life estate" for the benefit of UCSB, gifting their home to the university and retaining the right to live in it for the remainder of their lives. With Gretchan's passing in 2016 (Dr. Broom passed away in 2009), both significant gifts came to fruition.

UCSB sold the Broom residence to create a fund that assists new faculty with housing in Santa Barbara, and the endowment funds were distributed for Center's ongoing activities. The impact these planned gifts have made ensures that the Brooms' legacy will live on through the demography research of future UCSB faculty and scholars.

Create your legacy with a planned gift to UCSB. Contact Ilana Ormond at 805-893-5556 or ilana.ormond@ucsb.edu to get started.