The University’s new Center in Paris, which is scheduled to open in 2024, will be renamed the University of Chicago John W. Boyer Center in Paris, according to a press release on April 24. The release also announced the establishment of the John W. Boyer Professorship in the College.

Dean of the College John W. Boyer will become the new senior advisor to the president in the 2023-24 academic year after having served in his current position for 31 years. According to the press release, Boyer was “instrumental in conceptualizing” the original Center in Paris, which was established in 2003, during his time as dean.

“Throughout his tenure, Dean Boyer championed the expansion of the University’s global reach,” president Paul Alivisatos said in the press release. “As a tribute to the impact of his endeavors, it is only fitting that this center will now bear his name.”

The original Center currently serves as UChicago’s research and teaching arm in Europe, contributing to the University’s international presence. The Center is home to the University’s largest undergraduate study abroad location, offering over 20 programs from European, African, and Russian Civilizations to astronomy, cinema and media studies, human rights, and more. According to the Center’s website, it also supports the advanced studies of graduate students and faculty and promotes collaboration with the European public.

Designed by renowned architect Jeanne Gang, the new Center in Paris is intended to expand and enhance the capabilities of the original Center in Paris’s 13th arrondissement following increased demand for programming and space. According to the press release, the new building will “nearly triple the current Center’s physical capacity,” meaning that an additional 100 undergraduate students will have the opportunity to study abroad each year. The new Center will also host the University’s new International Institute for Research in Paris, which aims to support the work of “faculty, graduate students, and international scholars from Europe, Africa, and the Middle East,” according to the press release.

The renaming of the new Center in Paris was made possible by a lead gift of $10 million from the Shelby Cullom Davis Charitable Fund, along with an additional $11.5 million from members of the College Advisory Council in the Dean’s Parent and Family Council, and University alumni, parents, and trustees.

The John W. Boyer Professorship in the College was made possible by a $3.5 million gift from alumni Imran (A.B. ’96, A.M. ’96) and Sorin (A.B. ’96, J.D.’01) Siddiqui. According to the press release, it “will be awarded to a faculty member in the humanities or social sciences with a distinguished record of teaching in the Core curriculum and a history of significant contributions to education and student support.”

“I am deeply honored by this extraordinary gift,” Boyer said in the press release. “The new Center will be a model for what a major American research university can contribute in Europe, becoming a prominent voice of public policy, scholarly achievement, and cultural creativity in Paris and beyond.”