The new minimum level of year-round support will be $30,000, starting in the fall.

A Virginia native, Acampora cares “deeply about the transformative power of a liberal arts and sciences education, which I think matters more now than ever.”

The foundation’s $27.5 million gift will be bolstered by more than $17 million from the Bicentennial Professors Fund to significantly advance the study and teaching of the history and principles of democracy.

The new program represents the first significant, comprehensive changes to the College’s undergraduate curriculum in more than 40 years.

The effort will bring together a diverse range of scholars, government leaders and practitioners to study and advance the prospects of democracy around the world.

Alumnus and private equity investment firm leader Thompson Dean said his gift will allow the University “to play a leadership role in the innovations driving the evolution of a 21st-century liberal arts and sciences education.”

The new John L. Nau III Center for Civil War History will build on the University’s distinction as a leader in the research and teaching of 19th-century American history.