The University of Pittsburgh has announced a $3 million gift from alumni Renée K. Goldman ('63, M.A. '65) and Richard M. Goldman ('64, M.A. '66, Ph.D. '70) to endow a dean's chair in the School of Education.

The endowment gift will support the salary, professional development, recruitment, expenses, and other activities of the dean of the School of Education. Alan Lesgold, who has served as dean since 2000 and is a professor of psychology and intelligent systems in the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences, will be the inaugural holder of the Renée and Richard Goldman Dean's Chair.

The Goldmans, who have supported the School of Education since 1976, established the Richard M. and Renée K. Goldman Educational Entrepreneurial Fund with a $50,000 gift in 2013. They also have established a number of nonprofit and for-profit educational ventures, including the Sagemont School, a college preparatory school in Florida; Another Generation Preschools; the University of Miami Online High School; Virtual Sage, an online curriculum publishing company; and Smart Horizons Career Online Education, which claims to be the world's first accredited online school district.

"We are making this gift in recognition of Dean Alan Lesgold's accomplishments and his exceptional service to the School of Education," the couple said in a statement. "Through his leadership, the school has flourished as a world-class research institution with top faculty and a focus on producing quality leaders who will help advance the field of education for generations to come."