$12.5 million new gift from Dee and Jimmy Haslam is their latest step in a lifelong philanthropic journey that has steadily focused on health, education, and community

Dee and Jimmy Haslam’s new $12.5 million gift to University Hospitals in Cleveland is the latest step in a lifelong philanthropic journey that has steadily focused on health, education, and community.

The couple is directing this funding to research and drug development for chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and other rare blood cancers, with the aim of moving promising treatments to patients faster. For Dee Haslam, this is a deeply personal commitment.

She has spoken publicly about being diagnosed with CLL in 2021 and about how access to advanced care has allowed her to continue living a full and active life. Their hope is that this gift will help other patients and families benefit from the same kind of leading‑edge medicine.

Most of the Haslams’ new investment will support the Oxford‑Harrington Rare Disease Center, a collaboration between University Hospitals and the University of Oxford focused on developing new medicines for conditions with few or no effective treatments today.

The remainder will endow a chair in CLL research and establish an innovation fund at the UH Seidman Cancer Center, providing physician‑scientists with flexible resources to advance the most promising ideas. In making the gift, the Haslams emphasized that they see it as an investment in knowledge, in new drugs, and in giving patients better options and better information at moments of immense stress.

This moment fits into a long pattern. For more than two decades, the Haslams have used philanthropy to back ambitious, long‑term projects in health care. In 2024, members of the extended Bailey‑Haslam family gave $30 million to the Cleveland Clinic to create the Haslam Family Section for Cardiovascular Genetics at the Miller Heart, Vascular, and Thoracic Institute.

That initiative is advancing research into inherited heart conditions, expanding access to genetic testing for patients’ relatives, and supporting an endowed chair to anchor leadership in the field.

Taken together with the new university hospital’s gift, it shows a clear through‑line: a belief that well‑funded, targeted research, especially in genetics and complex diseases, can change the trajectory of countless lives.

Their giving, however, reaches far beyond hospitals and laboratories. Through the Haslam 3 Foundation and related family efforts, Dee and Jimmy Haslam have made education, youth sports, and neighborhood life central priorities.

At the University of Tennessee, their alma mater, they helped build some of the institution’s most prestigious programs, including the Haslam Scholars Program for top students and major support for the Haslam College of Business.

In Cleveland, they committed $11 million to Breakthrough Charter Schools, helping thousands of children access high‑quality education and stronger support systems. These gifts reflect a consistent belief that opportunity begins with strong schools, caring teachers, and the chance for young people to discover their potential.

Their role as sports owners has become one of the most visible expressions of that philosophy. As managing and principal partners of Haslam Sports Group and owners of the Cleveland Browns, they have treated professional sports as a platform for civic leadership as much as for competition.

In 2023, they pledged $20 million to launch the University Hospitals Haslam Sports Innovation Center, designed to connect sports, medicine, and technology to improve athlete safety, performance, and the fan experience.

Under their leadership, Browns community initiatives have also poured resources into renovating school athletic fields and recreational areas, giving young people in Cleveland safe, modern places to play, learn teamwork, and build confidence.

The Haslams have also shown a willingness to move quickly in times of crisis. When the COVID‑19 pandemic struck, they committed $1.5 million to relief funds across Ohio, including $1 million to the Greater Cleveland COVID‑19 Rapid Response Fund and $500,000 to the Columbus Foundation’s Emergency Response Fund.

Those funds helped front‑line organizations meet surging demand for food, housing support, and health services. Beyond writing checks, the family has been deeply involved in community projects in Knoxville, contributing to the transformation of Lakeshore Park through a broader $35 million family gift that has upgraded sports fields and created a stronger public gathering place.

Across all of this work runs a clear thread of continuity. From honors programs and charter schools to genetic heart research and now blood cancer innovation, Dee and Jimmy Haslam have consistently focused on investments that combine immediate impact with long‑term institutional strength.

The new $12.5 million gift to University Hospitals brings that story into even sharper focus. It channels their resources into an area of medicine that has affected their own family while also supporting a global rare‑disease effort that could benefit patients far beyond Cleveland.

For the Haslams, it is another step in a lifelong pattern of philanthropy that blends personal experience, civic responsibility, and a deep faith in what science, education, and community can achieve together.