COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) -- The University of Missouri has received $21.6 million from a 1974 graduate.
The university announced David Novak's donation at a ceremony Friday, the Columbia Daily Tribune reported . The funds will be used to create the Novak Leadership Institute in the School of Journalism.
The institute will offer undergraduate training, graduate courses including an online master's degree, certificates and seminars on leadership. The courses will be based on a leadership program Novak created.
"This is going to set the standard for how leadership is taught in the world," Novak said. "We are going to break new ground on leadership."
Novak graduated from the journalism school with a degree in advertising. He said in a statement that he owes his success to his education.
Novak was CEO of Yum! Brands, the company that manages Taco Bell, Kentucky Fried Chicken and Pizza Hut. He left in 2015 to launch a leadership training company called oGoLEAD.
Margaret Duffy, chair of the strategic communications department in the journalism school, will be the institute's director. Duffy said she hopes to have 100 students enrolled by 2018.
"You can teach people to be the type of leader they can become and they are comfortable with," she said. "The idea is to help people become their best selves, how to gain insights into other people, how to communicate effectively and intelligently and in ways that people will understand."
The gift is part of the Mizzou: Our Time to Lead fundraising campaign, which aims to raise $1.3 billion to create centers and institutes, renovate facilities and add to the school's endowment.