Indiana University has announced a $30 million gift from alumnus and former U.S. treasury secretary Paul H. O'Neill in support of its School of Public and Environmental Affairs.

The gift will establish the Paul H. O'Neill Center on Leadership in Public Service, a dean's initiatives fund, three faculty chair positions, five professorships, an endowed scholarship program, and a fellowship program for master's, doctoral, and postdoctoral students. According to the university, the gift will enable school leadership to respond nimbly to educational opportunities, adapt to change, and recruit the most talented teachers, researchers, and future leaders. In recognition of the gift, the school at both the IU Bloomington and IUPUI campuses will be renamed the Paul H. O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs. 

O'Neill, who began his career at the U.S. Veterans Administration, received a master's in public administration from Indiana University in 1966 as part of a federal government program for promising mid-career employees. After serving in the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, O'Neill went on to lead International Paper Co., the RAND Corp., and Alcoa; co-founded the nonprofit Pittsburgh Regional Healthcare Initiative; and served, from 2001 to 2002, as President George W. Bush's treasury secretary. O'Neill was awarded an honorary doctorate by the university in 2014 and in 2017 made a $3 million gift to the School of Public and Environmental Affairs in support of its graduate center.

Founded in 1972, the  School of Public and Environmental Affairs was the first of its kind to combine public policy, management, and administration with environmental studies; in 2018, it was ranked the top public affairs graduate program in the country by U.S. News and World Report.

"My education at IU was instrumental in preparing me for all that followed throughout a diverse and meaningful career," said O'Neill. "I am honored to now have the opportunity to give back to this exemplary institution, which means so much to me. My hope is that the school remains a place of excellence where future leaders can combine passion with action and develop the confidence they need to engage with society's greatest challenges and opportunities."