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In the Cause of Peace : Kroc Donates $6 Million to Notre Dame Institute

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Times Staff Writer

Furthering her campaign against the buildup of nuclear arms, Joan B. Kroc, owner of the San Diego Padres, gave $6 million to the University of Notre Dame’s International Institute for Peace Studies, Notre Dame President Theodore M. Hesburgh said Friday.

“It’s some kind of Christmas present,” said John J. Gilligan, a law professor at Notre Dame who will head the institute.

The institute, which has been operating informally for 15 years, will concentrate on the origins of violence and tension and will attempt to discover a way to solve international differences without resorting to war, Gilligan said in a telephone interview from South Bend, Ind.

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“It gives us a great opportunity,” said Gilligan, who served as governor of Ohio from 1971-75 and was director of the Agency for International Development under President Jimmy Carter. “Instead of living a kind of hand-to-mouth existence, we have a more stable base to work from.”

From Her Private Funds

Kroc, founder of the philanthropic Joan B. Kroc Foundation, donated the money from her private funds, a foundation spokesman said.

Describing herself as a “Joanie-come-lately” when it comes to being an activist against the nuclear arms race, Kroc began her disarmament crusade in September, 1984, after attending the National Women’s Conference for the Prevention of Nuclear War.

Since then, she has donated $1 million to finance the distribution of 50,000 copies of a disarmament book, $500,000 to a disarmament group of retired military officers and paid for two newspaper advertising campaigns in May and June calling for an end to the arms race. The combined cost of the ads, which ran in 23 major newspapers in May and 94 papers in July, was more than $1.1 million.

Kroc decided to make the donation to Notre Dame after hearing Hesburgh speak on finding peaceful solutions to global problems. She corresponded with Hesburgh for several weeks and visited the campus and its institute in early November, Gilligan said.

‘Dealing With the Causes’

“Mrs. Kroc, Father Hesburgh and I spent the afternoon discussing what we are doing (at the institute) and what we ought to be doing,” Gilligan said Friday. “Ten days ago she said she had decided to make a gift to the university so we can do the kind of things we wanted to do.”

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In a statement issued by the Kroc Foundation, Kroc said, “Father Hesburgh knows that peace on Earth won’t come through a quick technological fix, but by dealing with the causes of the conflict.”

With the $6-million gift, Gilligan hopes to hire additional faculty for the institute and set up a fellowship program to attract students and faculty from other countries, including the Soviet Union and China. He also hopes to develop videotapes that will carry the institute’s message beyond the campus.

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