Posted on February 7, 2013

Penn Receives $25 Million to Establish Center for Political Science, Economics

The University of Pennsylvania has announced a $25 million gift from alumnus Ronald O. Perelman.

To be established in the West Philadelphia Trust Building, the Ronald O. Perelman Center for Political Science and Economics will house Penn's departments of political science and economics. The administrative offices and the office of Counseling and Psychological Services currently housed in the Trust Building will be relocated on campus.

A member of Penn's board of trustees, Perelman holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from the university. A frequent donor, his previous gifts to the school include $20 million to create the Perelman Quadrangle and enable the university to restore the buildings at the historic core of its campus. In 2011, Perelman's parents, Raymond and the late Ruth Perelman, made a $225 million gift to Penn's School of Medicine, now the Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

"I am proud to continue my support of this extraordinary institution that means so much to me and my family," Perelman said. "This gift underscores my deeply held belief that our next generation must be given the tools to not only understand but positively impact government and the increasingly complex global economy."