By Mary Wisniewski CHICAGO (Reuters) – The sister of financial investor Warren Buffett has donated more than $100 million to Northwestern University, the largest single donation in the university’s 164-year history, the university said on Wednesday. The gift from Roberta Buffett Elliott, who graduated from the university with a history degree in 1954, will create the Roberta Buffett Institute for Global Studies, the university said in a statement. “Bertie was convinced that we could not wait any longer to launch this institute and that Northwestern was the perfect home for it,” said Northwestern University President Morton Schapiro. “She is a truly visionary philanthropist and we are honored to have her trust.” The institute will take a multidisciplinary approach to global issues such as economic development in poor regions and immigration policy, Northwestern said. Elliott’s donation is part of the university’s $3.75 billion fundraising campaign and brings its total donation to the university to about $110 million, Northwestern said. With her donation, the total amount raised for the campaign has surpassed the $2 billion mark for the private university, which has campuses in Chicago and suburban Evanston, Illinois. The size of Elliott’s donation is unusual, though not unprecedented. In the 2013-14 school year, 12 donations to colleges in the United States and Canada totaled $100 million or more, Northwestern spokesman Alan Cubbage said, citing The Chronicle of Higher Education. Elliott and Buffett will be present at a panel discussion at Northwestern on global issues on Wednesday afternoon. (This article was refiled to correct paragraph 8 to say that Buffett and Elliott will be present but will not speak.) (Reporting by Mary Wisniewski; Editing by Elvina Nawaguna and Doina Chiacu)
Northwestern University receives $100 million donation from Buffett’s sister
