The University of Arizona received $2.9 million from the John Templeton Foundation, school officials announced.

The donation will support the school's Center for the Philosophy of Freedom, which offers students and researchers an opportunity to examine political philosophy in a variety of contexts. The money will be used to help the center collaborate with the undergraduate degree program in Philosophy, Politics, Economics and Law in hiring a postdoctoral fellow, as well as help the center build a network of philosophy, politics and economics -- or PPE -- programs spanning several universities and four continents.

In addition, the gift from the Templeton Foundation will enable the center to expand its publishing program, including scholarly articles and books, and support its editorship of Social Philosophy and Policy, which has the highest circulation among Anglo-American philosophy journals in the Western world.

"The UA's political philosophy program has been ranked No. 1 in the world for several years running, which is due in no small part to the strength of the Center for the Philosophy of Freedom," John Paul Jones, dean of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, said in a statement. "This generous gift will not only benefit the center, it will also facilitate the exciting collaboration between the center and the UA's top-ranked Eller College of Management and McGuire Center for Entrepreneurship. These researchers' efforts to reinvent their fields illustrate the UA's continued leadership in interdisciplinary scholarship."

In the process, it will help create new hybrid online and traditional PPE degree programs, including a program in ethics, economy and entrepreneurship -- designed for high school teachers -- and six online courses geared toward undergraduates.

"The philosophy program at the University of Arizona has a long history of excellence," said School President Ann Weaver Hart. "The gift from the Templeton Foundation will help us to advance this program even further by providing the Center for the Philosophy of Freedom with resources directed at the vital and timely endeavor of examining political philosophy. We very much appreciate this gift and are thankful for the Templeton Foundation's generosity."