A member of the board of trustees at Washington University in St. Louis has given the institution a $60-million gift, of which $48-million will go to an unrestricted academic endowment, writes The Chronicle of Higher Education.

John F. McDonnell and the JSM Charitable Trust’s gift will also be used as a challenge grant for scholarships as well as an international scholars program, The Chronicle says. Mr. McDonnell is a former chairman of McDonnell Douglas Corporation, which merged with Boeing in the mid-1990s.

Plus, a trustee emeritus at Tufts University has pledged that university $30-million as part of his estate plan, according to The Tufts Daily.

The gift from Edward Merrin, who graduated from Tufts in 1950, and his wife, Vivian, will support student financial aid and was made in honor of the university’s president, Lawrence Bacow.

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