NYC mayor tops $1B in gifts to Johns Hopkins University

BALTIMORE (AP) - New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is donating US$350 million (S$432 million) to Johns Hopkins University, the bulk of it to help expand its research on such cross-discipline issues as global health and urban revitalisation, as his lifetime giving to his alma mater soars past US$1 billion, the university said.

University officials announced the commitment late on Saturday and said they believe Mr Bloomberg, who amassed his fortune creating the global financial services firm Bloomberg, is now the first person to give more than US$1 billion to a single American university.

Most of the latest gift, US$250 million, will be part of a larger effort to raise US$1 billion to foster cross-disciplinary work on global issues at Johns Hopkins, the university said. Funds initially will be used toward the appointment of faculty for interdisciplinary work on a series of issues that also will include individualised health-care delivery, sustainability of water resources and the science of learning.

The remaining US$100 million is to be devoted to need-based financial aid for undergraduate students, awarding 2,600 Bloomberg scholarships in the next 10 years, it said.