Two brothers will become the first public donors to the planned Princeton Neuroscience Institute, the University announced on Friday.
A $30 million donation from James McDonnell '58, John McDonnell '60 and the JSM Charitable Trust will fund the McDonnell Center for Systems Neuroscience, which will study cognitive processes.
In a statement, President Tilghman expressed her gratitude for the McDonnells' gift, saying she believes it will "greatly strengthen Princeton's position at the forefront of neuroscience research."
"In years to come," Tilghman added, "we expect many important discoveries to emerge from the center [the McDonnells] have created."
The announcement is the first step in a larger fundraising campaign that aims to raise money not only for the institute, but also for the University as a whole. The institute will likely be a key priority in the University's capital campaign, which is set to begin in the fall.
Institute leaders said the donation promises great opportunities for neuroscience. Molecular biology and physics professor David Tank, who co-directs the institute, said the money will go toward acquiring researchers and technology of the highest quality.
The neuroscience institute, of which the McDonnell Center will be a part, will cost an estimated $450 million and will share a building with the psychology department. Construction on the building, which will be located in the "science neighborhood" in the southeast corner of campus, is expected to be completed by 2011.
The institute will allow for the expansion of undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral programs that administrators and faculty hope will help the University stay competitive in the field of neuroscience.
The McDonnell Center's role within the institute reflects an emphasis on multi-field integration, Tank said in a University press release. That approach, in turn, "strengthens the entire institute, as breakthroughs in one field inevitably fuel breakthroughs in others, and reflects the integrated, multilevel approach to neuroscience that is one of the defining features of the institute."
"This is a tremendous benefit," Tank added, "not just to Princeton researchers, but to the advancement of knowledge in the field as a whole."
James McDonnell said the promise of such advancement helped spur his decision to donate. "Princeton is a great institution," he said in a statement, "and neuroscience is one of the up and coming fields in science today."
The University describes the McDonnells as among its most generous donors. In addition to serving as annual giving volunteers, James McDonnell, who is a University trustee, and his brother have made multiple monetary donations of substantial size. These have included the James S. McDonnell Hall and six James S. McDonnell Distinguished University professorships.
Both contributions were made on behalf of their late father, James S. McDonnell '21, the founder of McDonnell Aircraft Corporation, which is now a part of Boeing.
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