“The dramatic rise in large cities over the past 50 years has created some of society’s most difficult problems and most promising opportunities,” says Joe Mansueto, AB’78, MBA’80. A $35 million gift from him and Rika Mansueto, AB’91, announced this March, will support a new institute to improve urban life through scholarship and education.

The Mansueto Institute for Urban Innovation will bring together programs in the social, natural, and computational sciences and in the humanities to enhance UChicago’s research into all aspects of urbanization, from developing effective housing policies to strategies to reduce violence. The institute will serve as an intellectual destination for urban scholars, students, policy makers, and practitioners. It also will work with UChicago divisions and schools to train the next generation of city-focused thinkers.

“The Mansueto Institute for Urban Innovation will build on the University’s long history of urban scholarship and education, and will bring perspectives from across the institution to develop an understanding of the processes that drive, shape, and sustain cities,” says University president Robert J. Zimmer. “In recent years our faculty and deans have articulated the opportunity for a multidisciplinary institute that could enhance and foster a distinctive perspective in urban research and education. We are very grateful for the Mansuetos’ support that will enable these ideas to be realized.”

The Mansueto Institute will offer competitive seed funding for on-campus research projects and will partner with divisions and schools across the University to develop classes, internships, and other new opportunities for undergraduates. In addition, it will expand support for graduate students and postdocs with urban interests.

The institute also aims to be a virtual destination by establishing a library of integrated urban data and developing the analytic tools needed to use these data sets to better understand and compare urban areas, both in the United States and around the world. It will bring policy makers and practitioners in related fields to campus to work with UChicago students and faculty on pressing urban issues.

Joe Mansueto, the founder and CEO of Morningstar Inc., and Rika Mansueto previously donated $25 million to support construction of the Joe and Rika Mansueto Library. They hope the institute will help form new collaborations to improve urban life worldwide. “The University of Chicago has tremendous expertise in a variety of disciplines, but we’re hopeful that bringing them together will produce even greater innovation,” says Joe Mansueto. “Finally, we want to support the application of academic findings into public policy to have an enduring impact for people around the globe.”

The Mansueto Institute for Urban Innovation will play a key role in the University’s effort to bridge urban scholarship, practice, and engagement—a comprehensive institutional commitment known as UChicago Urban. The new institute adds to ongoing efforts in academic units across campus and will work closely with initiatives such as the Urban Education Institute and Urban Labs, which partner with policy makers to translate research into effective practices and programs. The institute will also collaborate with the Office of Civic Engagement, which works with local communities to develop resources and programs that have a positive impact in Chicago and can be modeled around the world.

“An institute devoted to studying the broad set of questions related to urban issues, and drawing upon many unique strengths of the University, will help make UChicago the preeminent destination for the study of important urban issues,” says Kerwin Charles, deputy dean and the Edwin and Betty L. Bergman Distinguished Service Professor in the UChicago Harris School of Public Policy.

The University will immediately begin a search, under the advisement of a faculty steering committee, for a prominent urban scholar to direct the institute. The Mansueto Institute for Urban Innovation will open shortly after a director is appointed and arrives on campus. The institute’s location has not yet been determined.

A version of this story appeared on the News Office website.