A key California State University institute based at Cal State San Marcos has added prominent San Diego philanthropist Darlene Marcos Shiley to its name after a significant donation.

The renamed Shiley CSU Institute for Palliative Care became official this month in recognition of Shiley’s $2.6 million gift to the center, one among many donations Shiley has given Cal State San Marcos and the university system, Cal State San Marcos announced June 10.

The CSU Board of Trustees approved the institute’s name change at its May 21 meeting in Long Beach, according to Cal State San Marcos’ news release.

With the $2.6 million donation, which Shiley announced June 8 at Cal State San Marcos’ annual fundraising gala, her gifts to the CSUSM Foundation now total $6 million, making Shiley the most generous donor to Cal State San Marcos, the university reported. The majority of those donations have gone to the institute.

“It will be another transformational gift to allow the CSU Institute for Palliative Care to continue to be the national leader in educating the present and future workforce and the community, to assure that this important work that touches us all can continue, will expand, and will eventually help change health care delivery,” university President Karen Haynes said in the news release.

Palliative care is an aspect of health care that addresses patients’ comfort, emotional well-being, confidence and dignity, the university’s news release described. It’s also an aspect of health care that Shiley has focused on since the death of her husband, noted artificial heart valve developer Donald Shiley.

“To have watched my late husband Donald decline over four years was truly devastating,” Shiley said in Cal State San Marcos’ news release. “But we both personally experienced the benefits of palliative care during the period, and as I quickly learned, palliative care isn’t just for those who are afflicted. It’s also for the loved ones and caregivers of people dealing with serious or chronic illness.”

The institute will likely gain an additional name in a few years as well, at Shiley’s request, the university announced.

The center is expected to become the Shiley Haynes CSU Institute for Palliative Care in honor of President Haynes, who retires this month after more than 15 years at Cal State San Marcos. Haynes holds both a master’s degree and Ph.D. in social work and saw the launch of the institute in 2012, according to the university.

The university will pursue the name change after a required two-year waiting period post-retirement, the university explained in its news release.

Shiley said she believes that Haynes’ combination of academic experience and leadership ability was instrumental in developing the institute.

“I am extremely grateful for President Haynes’ exceptional support of this important endeavor,” Shiley said in the university’s news release. “As a professional social worker, she immediately understood the program content and collaboration required to make the Institute a success. I look forward to eventually seeing her name alongside mine and my late husband Donald’s at the Shiley Haynes CSU Institute for Palliative Care.”

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