ANN ARBOR – Investors Richard and Susan Roge have stepped up their already extraordinary commitment to the University of Michigan with a $50 million gift that will be used to fund scholarships and other programs.

The gift – $30 million for scholarships at the U-M Medical School and $10 million in support for faculty, students and programs at the Center for Chinese Studies in the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts, plus $10 million for future university initiatives – comes as Richard Rogel takes on a leadership role in U-M’s new Victors for Michigan campaign.

He will serve as vice chair of the Victors for Michigan campaign and chair the Health System component of the broader campaign. In recognition of his ongoing commitment to keeping higher education affordable, he will lead the effort to raise $1 billion for the campaign’s highest priority, student support. For the Health System, he will lead the effort to garner support for education, patient care and research programs across the Medical School and the Hospitals and Health Centers.

“Rich and his wife Susan share our commitment to making it possible for extraordinary students to immerse themselves in their studies and research, and prepare for high-impact careers, without regard to cost or future debt,” President Mary Sue Coleman said. “On the eve of our campaign launch, the Rogels once again are demonstrating outstanding leadership with this new support for U-M students and global impact.”

The new gift brings the Rogels’ lifetime giving to U-M to nearly $76 million and places them among the university’s top donors. In 2000, they created a $22 million scholarship fund for students who, like Rich Rogel, come to U-M from out of state. Almost 500 students have received support.

The Rogels have given to many areas of UMHS, including the Comprehensive Cancer Center, the Medical School, and a medical innovation training program.

A native of New Jersey, Rogel graduated as the valedictorian of his 1970 class at what is now the U-M Stephen M. Ross School of Business. He went on to found an innovative company that provided a new option on an existing insurance plan, and to succeed as an investor.

“This university gave me so much, and Susan and I want to give back in ways that will make a difference to students and the Health System as a whole,” Rogel said. “With this gift, and my new role in the upcoming campaign, we hope to do our part to help all patients, now and tomorrow, who will be touched by the Health System’s care, discoveries and innovative minds. We hope others will do what they can, too.”

The gift for the Chinese Studies Center will bolster a strong program that spans studies of China’s history, literature, religion, art history, politics, economics, law and public health.

“U-M has had a long-standing, widely recognized leadership role in Chinese studies. Rich and Susan Rogel’s generous gift to the Center for Chinese Studies will renew our commitment and infuse the center with resources required to lead the nation in teaching, research, and service to enhance understanding of China and to train major scholars and leaders of the future,” said Susan Gelman, interim dean of the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts. “With this gift, the center will be able to partner with colleagues in China to develop richer understandings and collaborations for faculty and students.”

Currently, half of U-M’s 692 medical students receive some scholarship or grant support, including one student who holds a scholarship previously endowed by the Rogels.

The portion of the new gift devoted to the Center for Chinese Studies in LSA will build an endowment that will help U-M engage new faculty and students, and the broader U-M community, in China-related activities. Founded more than a half century ago, the Center for Chinese Studies has become one of the nation’s preeminent centers for the study of China.

The endowment will be used for everything from support for new U-M faculty and visiting scholars from China, to funds that will allow U-M graduate students to travel to China ? as well as lectures open to all. The Rogels’ gift will enhance U-M’s ability to study, interpret and share new knowledge about the nation and its people.

Nearly 500 U-M students from out-of-state have been selected to receive scholarships funded by previous gifts from the Rogels ? including 64 current students who hold Rogel Awards of Excellence. Richard Rogel’s high level of commitment to U-M led to his being awarded the 2011 Ernest T. Stewart Award for Alumni Volunteer Involvement from CASE, the Council for Advancement and Support of Education. He received U-M’s inaugural David B. Hermelin Award for Fundraising Volunteer leadership in 2004, the university’s highest award to volunteers.

The Rogels live in Avon, Colorado, where Richard serves as president of the investing firm Tomay Inc. He is the former chairman and CEO of the Preferred Provider Organization of Michigan, one of the first PPO health firms in the country.