The University of Chicago received a $50 million gift from trustee Rika Mansueto and her husband Joe Mansueto to hire and support a cohort of faculty with AI expertise. The funding launches the Mansueto Faculty of Mind and Machine Challenge, aiming to recruit 20 scholars across arts and social sciences, medicine, business, and law, and to support related investments in AI research and education. The initiative’s stated mission connects AI inquiry to human judgment, responsibility, and purpose, aligning recruitment with interdisciplinary scholarship. For higher education, the gift is a direct signal that elite institutions are formalizing AI faculty recruitment and interdisciplinary AI teaching as a strategic budget priority.