77 million given Harvard may set education record

Harvard University, already the most heavily endowed school in the nation, will receive $77 million in trust funds as its share of what may be the largest gift in the history of US education.

Harvard officials said the money will come from 1.5 million shares of Mallinckrodt Inc. stock left the university by corporation chairman Edward Mallinckrodt Jr., who passed on in 1967.

The value of the stock jumped when reports circulated that Avon Products was going to acquire Mallinckrodt, a St. Louis-based chemical and health care products company.