Billionaire businessman James Crown died Sunday at the age of 70 in a racing crash in Colorado. 

From 2018, Crown served as chairman and CEO of Henry Crown and Company, founded by his grandfather. 

Crown, also a philanthropist, was head of the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago’s public safety task force, which recently announced plans to help reduce violence in the city.  

The Crown Family Center for Jewish and Israel Studies at NU offers a major and minor in Jewish Studies and a minor in Hebrew Studies. The Center also supports the Crown Fellowship, “an award given annually to a Northwestern graduate student or group of students whose research bears on some aspect of Jewish history, culture, or religion,” according to information from the Center’s website.

In the McCormick School of Engineering, the Crown Family Internship provides an opportunity for doctoral candidates to “gain practical experience in industry or at national laboratories in areas closely related to their research,” per the program’s description. 

The Rebecca Crown Center and the Henry Crown Sports Pavilion are named for and were partially funded by members of the Crown family.

Email: [email protected] 

Related Stories:

— Wildcats dominate this year’s ‘100 Most Powerful Chicagoans’ list

— University dedicates new lakeside athletic facilities

— Israeli intellectual Moshe Halbertal delivers annual Crown lecture