President Richard C. Levin today announced that Dr. Henry A. Kissinger will donate his papers to Yale University. The collection, which consists of approximately one million documents and objects covering Dr. Kissinger’s extraordinary life as a diplomat, scholar, teacher, and private citizen, will enhance Yale’s existing strengths as an archival repository for major 20th century American leaders.

The Kissinger Archives at Yale University will serve as the foundation for the newly established Johnson Center for the Study of American Diplomacy, housed at the Jackson Institute and made possible by a gift from Charles B. Johnson, the Chairman of the Board of Franklin Resources, one of the nation’s leading mutual fund companies, headquartered in San Mateo, California.

As a program of the Jackson Institute, and in collaboration with the Brady-Johnson Program in Grand Strategy, the Johnson Center will bring prominent statesmen to campus as Kissinger Senior Fellows, as well as host Kissinger Visiting Scholars who are researching and writing about the history of American diplomacy. As part of this program, the Johnson Center also will host an annual conference that will convene practitioners and scholars from around the world to discuss contemporary issues in international affairs.