Indiana University Bloomington has announced a $60 million commitment from alumnus and IT pioneer Fred Luddy to establish a multidisciplinary center focused on artificial intelligence.

The second-largest private gift in IU history will fund construction of a building to house the Luddy Center for Artificial Intelligence in the School of Informatics, Computing and Engineering and endow six chairs, six professorships, six faculty fellowships, and graduate and undergraduate scholarships. The new building will feature teaching and learning spaces designed to support faculty and students doing pioneering work in AI and machine learning and encourage interdisciplinary collaboration. In recognition of the gift, the school will be renamed the Luddy School of Informatics, Computing and Engineering. Established in 1999 as the School of Informatics, the first of its kind in the U.S., the school added a new program in intelligent systems engineering in 2016.

Luddy, who enrolled at IU in 1973 but dropped out because he was spending all his time programming, credits economic professor Edward Whalen with paving the way for his success by offering him his first job as a computer programmer. Luddy went on to develop the concept of platform-as-a-service in cloud computing, creating modular components that are easily customizable, and in 2004 founded ServiceNow, a Silicon Valley-based company that delivers automated cloud-based IT help desk services.

"I believe in the importance of people," said Luddy. "It is the imagination and determination of people that drive technology that makes an impact in real lives. My path has been shaped by the people who inspire me, who guide me to pursue the next innovation with the potential to transform everything....This gift will allow the next generation of researchers and students to bring together their knowledge, wisdom, and ideas to create things that we never thought possible. I'm thrilled to be able to play a role in helping IU professors and students reach for what comes next."