The Kinder Foundation provided a $25 million gift in October 2015 to The University of Missouri to fund the Kinder Institute on Constitutional Democracy, an initiative to promote excellence in teaching and scholarship about American constitutional and democratic principles, history and traditions.

The endowed gift provides permanent support for the Kinder Institute, formerly named the Kinder Forum, which was created in 2014 by a prior $1.67 million gift from the Kinder Foundation, through the Jack Miller Center. Mr. Kinder, who earned his bachelor’s and law degrees from MU said of the gift, “Future generations should have the opportunity to study and understand the history and importance of how our country and government system was created. I am confident this gift will create a world-class Institute.”

The Institute is under the leadership of Director Justin Dyer, associate professor of Political Science, and Associate Director Jeffrey L. Pasley, professor of History and Journalism, and will be housed in the MU departments of history and political science in the MU College of Arts and Science. See promotional video.