LOS ANGELES — Hugh Hefner has donated $2 million to the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts.

The money will fund a central exhibition space in the new headquarters of the school and an archival repository for student films and historic documents, the university said.

The existing repository, which bears Hefner’s name, holds more than eight decades of student films, including some by George Lucas.

“I’ve always believed that following one’s dreams is very important,” Hefner said in a statement from USC.

The 81-year-old Playboy founder has contributed millions of dollars to preserve films and fund cinema schools over the years. Hefner gave $100,000 to USC in 1992 to create a course, Censorship in Cinema, and in 1995 he donated $1.5 million to endow the Hugh M. Hefner Chair for the Study of American Film.