The University of Pennsylvania recently received a $10 million donation that will help the university advance its climate and sustainability initiatives, writes Ryan Mulligan for the Philadelphia Business Journal.

Penn received the gift from 1995 graduate Alp Ercil, founder and chief investment officer of hedge fund, Asia Research and Capital Management.

With the newfound funding, Penn will create the Penn Climate Sustainability Initiative, which will help fund climate research across all 12 of Penn’s schools. It will also help advance the university’s Climate and Sustainability Action Plan to make the school 100 percent carbon neutral by 2042.

This plan was launched in 2009 with updates coming every five years.

As part of Penn’s plan, the university will also appoint a vice provost for climate science, policy, and action.

“Penn has promised to lead on the greatest challenges of our time, and climate change may be the greatest challenge of all,” Penn Interim President J. Larry Jameson said in a statement. “. . .We will draw on our collective strengths in climate science and policy to advance our understanding of these challenges and discover solutions that will make a difference around the world.”

Penn receives this gift amid an ongoing slowdown in philanthropic gifts both nationwide and at Ivy League institutions.

Read more about the next phase of Penn’s climate initiative in the Philadelphia Business Journal.

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