IRVINE, Calif. — School dignitaries, donors and professors gathered Thursday to slice open the future on a new facility at University of California, Irvine with an afternoon ribbon cutting.

The Susan Samueli Integrative Health Institute paves the way for a slate of new programs and patient services.

The institute is within the new Susan & Henry Samueli College of Health Sciences, 110,000-square-foot complex on campus.

The new building was made possible by Susan and Henry Samueli, who have donated to the school for decades, including a $5.7 million gift in 2000 to start off the Susan Samueli Center for Integrative Medicine. Since then, the gifts have become larger. In 2017, they gave $200 million, the seventh largest donation to a public university at the time, to build out the college of health sciences.

The clinic includes ample space for patients, 42 rooms, a pharmacy and a special suite for infusions localizing some services where nearby patients might otherwise have to travel.

“Patients are increasingly choosing the Samueli Institute to support their individual health journeys because they trust the evidence-informed, whole-health services our expert providers offer. As an academic institution, we are laser-focused on producing scientific evidence that increases understanding of how integrative treatments improve outcomes, who benefits and in what circumstances,” said Dr. Shaista Malik, executive director of the newly opened institute.

Students already began attending lessons at the new building with research space scheduled to open later in the fall.