The University of Notre Dame has received $50-million, its largest gift ever, in a bequest from Joan B. Kroc, the philanthropist and widow of the founder of McDonald’s, Ray Kroc.p. The money from Ms. Kroc, who died this month, will benefit programs at the university’s Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, established in 1986 with the first of several gifts from Ms. Kroc. Her overall donations to Notre Dame total $69.1-million.p. The bequest will establish the Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C., Fund for Graduate Peace Studies. Named for a former president of Notre Dame, the endowment will support additional faculty and staff members in the institute’s graduate program.p. The institute’s research focuses on the religious and ethnic dimensions of conflict and peace building; the ethics of using force; and the peace-making role of international norms, policies, and institutions, with a focus on economic sanctions and the enforcement of human rights.p. The previous largest donation to Notre Dame was a $35-million gift from Thomas and Kathy Mendoza for the naming of the Mendoza College of Business.
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