The Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University has received a $17 million gift from the estate of James R. and Helen D. Russell.

The bequest will create and endow the Russell Fellows Program, a one-year degree program for recent liberal arts graduates who wish to acquire business skills before embarking on a career in business, and will also endow a chaired professorship, the James R. and Helen D. Russell Professor of Finance, in the school's department of finance. In recognition of the gift and Helen Russell's love of gardens, the school will name a study lounge in the family's honor in its new lakefront learning center, which is scheduled to open in 2016.

Jim Russell attended Northwestern's School of Commerce (now the Kellogg School) on a full scholarship and graduated summa cum laude in 1935. He met his wife, Helen, in 1934, and they married in 1939, the same year that Russell joined Illinois Tool Works, where he worked for forty years before retiring in 1979 as the company's chief financial officer. The Russells are survived by their daughter, Dr. Jean Russell.

"The very generous bequest from Jim and Helen Russell comes at a transformative and exciting time for Kellogg," said Kellogg School dean Sally Blount. "Jim was a wise and prudent business man and a loyal alumnus of the school. We are grateful to the entire Russell family for this gift and are honored to use it to celebrate Jim's legacy and very successful career at ITW."