Stanford is about to take a giant step toward fulfilling University President John Hennessy’s vision of a “global university.”

Hennessy announced yesterday that Stanford has raised $94 million dollars in gifts for a new multi-disciplinary program focused on international studies.

This international initiative is the latest in a series of large-scale interdisciplinary projects to be launched, and Hennessy told The Daily that it should also further Stanford’s efforts to broaden its global presence and reputation.

The most generous gift came from Stanford alumni Bradford Freeman and Ronald Spogli, founding partners of the Los Angeles-based investment firm Freeman Spogli & Co., who together donated $50 million toward the initiative.

The money will be used to create up to 10 interdisciplinary professorships and to endow the directorship of the Stanford Institute for International Studies, or SIIS. It will also support the work of the institute’s centers and programs and, together with funds from the Office of the President, serve as seed money to support competitive interdisciplinary research grants. The current director of SIIS is Political Science Prof. Coit D. Blacker.

The gift is the largest ever to be received by an international studies program at Stanford, according to Klas Bergman, associate director for communications at SIIS.

The Stanford News Service reported that the initiative will tackle three broad themes: “pursuing peace and security in an insecure world; reforming and improving governance at all levels of society; and advancing human health and well being.”

Stanford is uniquely situated to approach some of the most stubborn issues in global politics today, Hennessy said in an interview with The Daily.

“The scope and challenge of international problems around the world have grown more acute,” he said. “Universities could be one of the most important sources of solutions.”

In their current state, SIIS and its research centers, including the Center for International Security and Cooperation, or CISAC, have been conducting research in areas like homeland security and risk management. Bergman said this research would take on a “University-wide dimension” under the new initiative.

For instance, Bergman said he envisioned a collaborative effort between SIIS and the Medical School to research defense against biological attacks and the spread of infectious diseases, including the African AIDS epidemic.

SIIS is currently located in Encina Hall, which is also the site of the Political Science Department. Bergman said that, with funds provided by the initiative, the “master plan” down the road will be to make changes to Encina to better outfit the building as a hub for international studies.

According to Bergman, the first serious plans for the initiative began last spring when Hennessy appointed Blacker and Engineering Prof. Elisabeth Pate-Cornell to chair the Faculty Steering Committee.

In the past several years, the University has launched two other major multidisciplinary initiatives, Bio-X program in the James H. Clark Center and the Environmental Initiative.

Bergman added that another multidisciplinary project focused on the arts is in the pipeline but that more specifics are not available.

Over the past year, Hennessy has made publicized visits to India and China, and the University has also prioritized the opening of one or two new overseas campuses in addition to the recently-opened site in Beijing.

Hennessy said that some of the money for the new initiative will be used for scholarships to bring more international students to campus. Funding for these scholarships will be supported by alumni Craig and Susan McCaw.

Bergman said the hope is to eventually extend need-blind financial aid, which is currently available only to American students, to international students.

Right now, international students who cannot meet tuition costs on their own “basically have to scrounge around for money, look for loans, find some money in their home country,” Bergman added.

Both of the lead donors are already heavily involved in University affairs. Freeman is a member of the Stanford Board of Trustees, and Spogli is a member of the board of visitors at SIIS.

The other $44 million in funding came from various sources, including an anonymous gift to the Graduate School of Business to support its Center for Global Business and the Economy; a donation from Susan Ford Dorsey, who has served on the Haas Center’s national advisory board since 2001, to enhance the master’s program in international policy studies; and a contribution from San Francisco philanthropist Walter Shorenstein to endow the Asia Pacific Research Center.