COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — A University of Missouri journalism think tank has received one of the largest gifts in school history to continue research into the digital future of news.

School leaders announced a $30.1 million endowment donation Thursday morning to the Reynolds Journalism Institute. That is the second largest donation ever made to the university. The biggest gift was a $31 million contribution from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation in 2004 to create the digital research center.

The new donation establishes a permanent endowment fund to cover the institute's ongoing operating expenses.

Donald Reynolds was a University of Missouri School of Journalism graduate who founded the Donrey Media Group. The company's properties included the Las Vegas Review-Journal.