The University of Chicago announced Thursday that alumni Joseph (A.B. ’78, M.B.A. ’80) and Rika Mansueto (A.B. ’91) donated $50 million to support artificial intelligence and machine learning research.
The gift is part of a broader effort, the Mansueto Faculty of Mind and Machine Challenge, to raise nearly $200 million to recruit faculty and expand interdisciplinary work in artificial intelligence, University President Paul Alivisatos wrote in an email to students and staff on Thursday.
The challenge, kickstarted by the Mansuetos, is intended to “inspire matching support from additional donors,” Alivisatos wrote.
The University plans to recruit a cohort of 20 faculty members to work in departments across the University as a part of the initiative, according to Alivisatos, with the challenge’s funding supporting both hiring and investment in “the academic ecosystem for emerging topics in AI-related inquiry.”
A University spokesperson said the initiative will not be housed in a single department or institute. “The faculty supported through the challenge may work in fields ranging from the arts and humanities to the social sciences, science, medicine, economics, business, law, and beyond,” the spokesperson wrote, adding that some faculty may hold joint appointments in computer science, mathematics, and statistics.
The spokesperson added that the $50 million gift from the Mansuetos is the first contribution toward the University’s broader $200 million goal, and that administrators are developing a faculty hiring plan.
The University did not provide a specific timeline for recruitment.
In recent years, the University has expanded its investment in artificial intelligence with the Data Science Institute, which includes AI-focused programs in climate science and physical science.
In the email, Alivisatos described the gift as timely amid “accelerating advances in computing, statistics, and artificial intelligence,” which he wrote are enabling researchers to solve “what were once thought to be intractable problems.”
He added that the initiative aims to bring “a wide variety of perspectives and disciplinary lenses” to AI-related developments.
Rika Mansueto, a member of the University’s Board of Trustees, and Joseph Mansueto have previously made donations supporting the Joe and Rika Mansueto Library and the Mansueto Institute for Urban Innovation.
The donation is one of several major alumni gifts announced by the University this academic year, and comes less than two weeks after a $50 million donation from Board of Trustees Chair David Rubenstein (J.D. ’73) to support the modernization of Ida Noyes Hall.
Editor’s note, April 3, 4:17 p.m.: This article was updated to include comments from a University spokesperson.
