COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) - The founder of an apparel company has given the University of Missouri $5.5 million to research clean energy.
Sidney Kimmel, founder and chairman of The Jones Group, donated the money through his charitable organization. The Jones Group includes such brands as Anne Klein, Nine West and Gloria Vanderbilt.
The university said in a statement that Kimmel has never been on the Columbia campus but decided to donate to the university because it has research capacity in several fields. The university says it's the largest gift in the school's history from someone with no ties to the school.
The money will help create the Sidney Kimmel Institute for Nuclear Renaissance, which will involve researchers from the MU Research Reactor and physics, engineering and chemistry departments.