‘Papa John,’ DeVos Families Donating to Purdue

(John Schnatter Center for Economic Research rendering courtesy of Purdue University.)

Two big name families have donated a total of $9 million to Purdue University. An $8 million gift from the John H. Schnatter Family Foundation will result in the renaming of Purdue’s Research Center in Economics in honor of the Papa John’s International Inc. (Nasdaq: PZZA) founder. The Doug and Maria DeVos Foundation, named for global consumer business Amway President Doug DeVos and his wife, is giving $1 million to the center.

The funds will unlock a $9 million match from the school’s provost office and support one or two additional hires each year for the next six years. The center was launched nearly four years ago to conduct research on the role incentives and markets play in public policy. Krannert School of Management Dean David Hummels says "economics research at Purdue is on the rise. We recently dedicated the seventh floor of the Krannert Building as a space for agricultural economics, the third floor as a center for public policy research, and we are on track to add more than a dozen new faculty members to the ranks of the Department of Economics. We aim to be one of the great centers of economic thought in the country."

Schnatter, a Jeffersonville native, launched the foundation with his wife, Annette, in 1997. The Doug and Maria DeVos Foundation has been around since 1992 and has previously supported the school. Doug DeVos graduated from Krannert and was a student-athlete when he attended. You can connect to more about the donations and the research center by clicking here.