Penn gets gift for economics/politics center

Billionaire investor Ronald O. Perelman has donated $25 million to the University of Pennsylvania to create a new center to house both its political science and economic departments, the university announced today.

The new center will bear his name and be based at the West Philadelphia Trust Building at 36th and Walnut streets in the heart of Penn's campus.

"Ron Perelman's extraordinary generosity will enable us to create an outstanding center for political science and economics, two of Penn's most popular undergraduate majors," Penn President Amy Gutmann said in a prepared statement. The center, she said, "will transform the existing space into a magnificent new building that will combine two key academic departments in one central location."

The building currently houses several administrative offices and the office of counseling and psychological services - all which will be relocated on campus, Penn said in a news release.

Perelman, a university trustee and alumnus with both graduate and undergraduate degrees from The Wharton School, is one of the nation's richest Americans. He is 26th in Forbes latest rankings, with a net worth of $12 billion. A major philanthropist, he is chairman and chief executive officer of MacAndrews & Forbes Holdings Inc., a New York-based holding company with interests in a diversified portfolio of public and private companies.

He is the son of Raymond G. and the late Ruth Perelman, who gave Penn the largest single gift in its history in 2011. The couple donated $225 million to Penn's School of Medicine, now named after them.

Ronald Perelman also has made previous gifts to the university, including $20 million to create Perelman Quadrangle, allowing Penn to restore the buildings at the core of its campus. They include Houston Hall, Irvine Auditorium, Cohen Hall - named for Perelman's former wife, the late Claudia Cohen - College Hall and Williams Hall. He also has donated to undergraduate financial aid, Wharton, athletics and medicine.

"I am proud to continue my support of this extraordinary institution that means so much to me and my family," Perelman said in a prepared statement. "This gift underscores my deeply held belief that our next generation must be given the tools to not only understand but positively impact government and the increasingly complex global economy."