ORONO – An anonymous donor has given $2.85 million to the University of Maine Foundation for its William S. Cohen Center for International Policy and Commerce.

The center was established in UM’s College of Business, Public Policy and Health in 1997 when Cohen left the U.S. Senate and donated to UM the papers from his quarter-century serving Maine in Congress.

In 2000, after completing four years as secretary of defense, Cohen added the papers from his work in the Pentagon to the UM collection.

The center’s focus has been on the development of the Cohen Papers Archive and on the preservation of the William S. Cohen Lecture Series.

The gift, which takes the form of six charitable lead trusts, will produce income for the Cohen Center in annual installments beginning later this year.