Robert Novak donating $1.5 million to University of Illinois

My alma mater, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, is in the news today, and for once, it doesn't involve its embattled mascot, Chief Illiniwek.

Newspaper columnist and Fox News contributor Robert Novak has the same alma mater. And this morning, the Chicago Tribune (free registration required) is reporting that Novak is donating $1.5 million to the school.

Here is the best part, the money is to fund a $1.5 million chair in western civilization studies.

From the Trib:

Novak graduated from the U. of I. in 1952. He says he felt enriched by the Western civilization courses he took, and he adds that the university also educated his father and several relatives.