2 families give $10 million to Notre Dame center

Associated Press

SOUTH BEND, Ind. - The son and daughter-in-law of former Notre Dame football coach Ara Parseghian and another family that graduated from school have made gifts totaling $10 million to endow their alma mater's Center for Rare and Neglected Diseases.

Michael and Cindy Parseghian made the gifts in honor of their children, Michael, Marcia and Christa, who died of Niemann-Pick Type C, a rare disease that primarily strikes children. Matthew and Christine Boler and his sister Jill Boler McCormack and her husband, Dan, made their gift in honor of their parents.

Established in 2009, the newly named Boler-Parseghian Center for Rare and Neglected Diseases will work to develop life-saving treatments. The Rev. John Jenkins, the university president, said the center aligns with Notre Dame's institutional goal to make a difference in the world.