The University of Central Missouri has announced that it will receive a planned gift currently valued at $20 million from the estate of alumnus John Spillman Jones, who graduated more than a century ago.

The largest planned gift in the university's history involves a trust agreement made possible by Jones, who graduated from UCM in 1912 and passed away in 1968. According to the UCM Alumni Foundation, the university will not receive the gift for several years, per the agreement.

After graduating from UCM, Jones earned a law degree at the University of Chicago and went on to a lengthy career in management, serving as sales director for Ralston Purina, among other jobs.

"Transformative gifts such as this positively impact the trajectory of an institution," said Courtney Goddard, vice president for university advancement and executive director of the UCM Alumni Foundation. "We at the alumni foundation, and the many students who will be touched by this gift, are immensely grateful for Mr. Jones's thoughtful planning to transform the lives of students at UCM. Future students will benefit from his generosity in ways even he never could have imagined."