March 26, 2019

Dear Wildcats,

// I am writing to let you know we have lost a pillar of the community: Don Diamond, chairman of venture capital firm Diamond Ventures, has passed away.
 
As you may know, Don generously supported the Tucson community for many decades. Together with his beloved wife Joan, Don played a significant role in supporting Tucson’s community, national and international health, education and charitable service organizations, giving both his time and financial resources.
 
The Diamonds’ philanthropy touched every corner of our campus, from the Eller College of Management, to the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, McKale Memorial Center and UA Athletics, College of Education, Judaic Studies and the College of Fine Arts, just to name a few. The Diamond family also created a deeply personal legacy when they contributed $15 million to name the Diamond Children’s Medical Center, which opened in 2010. Joan and Don invested in research dedicated to lung injury and established a pulmonary function testing for children who have active disease with asthma.
 
Born in New York City, Don attended elementary and junior high school in Arizona and after serving in the Army, he returned to Arizona and attended the University of Arizona. The Diamonds met as UA students in 1947 and moved to Long Island, so Don could pursue a career as a commodities dealer. Don’s career in land development began in the 1960s and saw the acquisition and development of many successful communities in Tucson and Phoenix.
 
Services will be held at the Tucson Jewish Community Center on Wednesday, March 27 at 2:00 p.m., immediately followed by interment at Evergreen. 
 
The Arizona Daily Star has published a wonderful obituary on Don.

Please join me in keeping Don and his late wife’s daughters, Helaine Levy and Jennifer Diamond, and the entire Diamond family in your thoughts and prayers.

Sincerely,

Robert C. Robbins
President
The University of Arizona