The University of Missouri received a $25 million gift from the Kinder Foundation to fund the Kinder Institute on Constitutional Democracy, an initiative to promote excellence in teaching and scholarship about American constitutional and democratic principles, history and traditions.
This new, endowed gift will provide permanent support for the Kinder Institute, formerly named the Kinder Forum, which was created in 2014 by a prior $1.67 million gift from the Kinder Foundation through the Jack Miller Center. The Kinder Institute supports the research and scholarship of MU faculty, undergraduate and graduate students who seek to explore questions related to the history, theory and practice of constitutional democracy as it was crafted by the American founders and developed in subsequent generations.
The Kinder Foundation, a family foundation established in 1997 by Rich and Nancy Kinder of Houston, Texas, provides transformational grants that impact urban green space, education, and quality of life. Mr. Kinder, a native of Cape Girardeau, Missouri, earned his bachelor’s and law degrees from MU in 1966 and 1968, respectively.
“Future generations should have the opportunity to study and understand the history and importance of how our country and government system was created,” Kinder said. “I am confident this gift will create a world-class Institute that will focus on constitutional democracy and what makes America the greatest nation on earth.”
Reviewed 2015-10-08