Irene Diamond, president of the Irene Diamond Fund, a major supporter of AIDS research and the arts, and a longtime benefactor of The Juilliard School, died on January 21 at her home in Manhattan. She was 92.

Irene Diamond Photo by Graham MacIndoe, courtesy of AmFAR

Irene Diamond and her husband, Aaron Diamond, a prominent New York real estate developer, established the Aaron Diamond Foundation in the 1950s. As the country's largest supporter in the fight against AIDS, the foundation was best known for creating the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center for the City of New York, affiliated with Rockefeller University. (It was there that the breakthrough discovery of protease inhibitors was made.) In the early 1980s, the Diamonds made the decision to distribute the foundation's entire and considerable wealth over the next 10 years, allocating 40 percent for medical research, 40 percent for minority education, and 20 percent for cultural causes. Upon Mr. Diamond's sudden death in 1984, his wife of 42 years stepped in to carry out the foundation's goal as more than $220 million was given away to about 700 New York City institutions.

Continuing her own philanthropic work as president of the Irene Diamond Fund, Mrs. Diamond provided major gifts that supported the work of cultural institutions including The Juilliard School, New York City Ballet, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Dance Theater of Harlem, and the New York Public Library. She also aided causes such as gun control and AIDS programs for public schools.

As an institution where the arts and education intersect, Juilliard—which she called "probably the greatest school of its kind in the world"—was a particular beneficiary of her generosity. Her first $10 million gift to the School in 1992, the largest in Juilliard's history at the time, established a fund providing support for student scholarships, faculty salaries, and special projects, including those aimed at increasing minority representation in the Juilliard community. An additional $10 million given through the Irene Diamond Fund in 2001 was a major component in the plan to increase financial aid for master's degree students. Her dedication to Juilliard has been honored for the past 11 years with an annual concert at the School bearing her name. She also recently gave $1.2 million for a new home for Jazz at Lincoln Center, which is nearing completion on Columbus Circle.

Left to right: Irene Diamond, June Noble Larkin (then Juilliard's chairman of the board), and President Joseph W. Polisi in 1992, the year Diamond presented the first of her two major gifts to the School. Photo by Peter Schaaf

In 1999 President Bill Clinton honored her philanthropic efforts with the National Medal of Arts. At that ceremony, he said: "It has been said that discovery consists of seeing what everyone has seen, and thinking what no one has thought. We are all far richer for the vision, the insight, and the discoveries of this most precious Diamond." Mrs. Diamond also received the Andrew Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy in 2001. She was a board member of Human Rights Watch, the Film Society of Lincoln Center, and Young Concert Artists.

Interested in the arts from an early age, Irene Diamond (née Levine) was born in Pittsburgh and studied theater in New York before heading to Hollywood, where she developed her career as a story editor and talent scout in the film industry. She worked with Warner Brothers, Samuel Goldwyn, and Hal Wallis (both independently and at Paramount Pictures). She recognized the potential of an unproduced play that became the script for Casablanca, and gave actors Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas, and Robert Redford their first breaks. After she returned to New York and married in 1942, she continued to work in show business until 1970.

President Joseph W. Polisi expressed profound sadness upon learning of Mrs. Diamond's death, and spoke for the entire Juilliard community when he said: "The Juilliard School deeply mourns the death of Irene Diamond. With beauty, determination, creativity, wisdom, and wit, Irene made our world a better place. Her achievements stand as a model for those who strive to realize a life well-lived. Irene's legacy will lastingly enrich us, and she will forever hold a special place in our hearts."

Irene Diamond is survived by her daughter Jean, and two grandsons.