2022 Generosity Highlights
July 1, 2021–June 30, 2022
Scholarships awarded from endowments over the last 10 years:
2022: $3.9 million
2021: $3.7 million
2020: $3.3 million
2019: $3.1 million
2018: $2.9 million
2017: $2.9 million
2016: $2.5 million
2015: $2.5 million
2014: $2.3 million
2013: $2 million
Class of 2026: Of 5,500 students...
34%
ALANA (African, Latino/Hispanic, Asian, Hawaiian/Pacific Islander and Native American)
4.02
Overall high school GPA
51%
Female
2022 Commitments: supporting every corner of the university
GIVING BY PURPOSE
| Purpose | Amount | % |
|---|---|---|
| Support Research and Programs | $73.6 million | 58 |
| Support Talented Students | $28.2 million | 22 |
| Support First Class Faculty | $18.4 million | 18 |
| Support Our Annual Fund | $6.3 million | 5 |
| Support Buildings and Infrastructure | $1.1 million | 1 |
| Total FY2022 Commitment | $127.6 million | 100 |
GIVING BY SOURCE
| Donor Source | Amount | % |
|---|---|---|
| Foundations | $39.3 million | 31 |
| Friends | $33.6 million | 26 |
| Alumni | $29 million | 23 |
| Bequests | $9.7 million | 8 |
| Corporations | $9.3 million | 7 |
| Other Orgs | $6.7 million | 5 |
| Total FY2022 Commitment | $127.6 million | 100 |
Our donors’ generosity has been felt in myriad ways, such as through…
STUDENT SCHOLARSHIPS:
Ajijolaoluwa “Jole” Laguda ’23
Political Science, Bachelor’s Degree Individual Concentration (BDIC):
International Affairs & Justice
Commonwealth Honors College member
With each passing year at UMass Amherst, Ajijolaoluwa “Jole” Laguda has been building their leadership skills through their thoughtful selection of classes, clubs, internships, community service roles, and work experience. Now a senior, Laguda is adding their current study abroad coursework at La Universidad de Andrés Bello in Chile to their bedrock of knowledge.
A political science and international affairs & justice double major and Chinese/Spanish double minor, Laguda is passionate about global justice, foreign languages, and world cultures. They cite donor scholarships as being crucial in supporting their enormous appetite for knowledge.
Laguda’s goals are “to work for the common good, build solidarities, dismantle walls, and nurture the human creative spirit.” They plan to attend graduate school to study international affairs and use their skills to help international human rights organizations.
“UMass Amherst donor scholarships have given me the means and independence to unapologetically pursue my dreams …[and have] allowed me to work impactful unpaid internships which have guided my educational path and given me meaningful global connections.”
In academic year 2021–22, Laguda was awarded the BDIC Go Get the World Scholarship, the Maia Felisse McDermott Memorial BDIC Scholarship, the Frank and Helen DiGiammarino Scholarship, the John W. Lederle Endowed Student Internship Fund in Public and Nonprofit Service Scholarship, and the Tracey Lee Maker Memorial Scholarship.
Ryan Bahlous-Boldi ’25
Computer Science
Commonwealth Honors College member
Given Ryan Boldi’s stellar academic performance, it’s not surprising that he is taking a graduate-level course—Machine Learning—in his sophomore year. The opportunity to interact with graduate students in class allows Boldi to get a glimpse into what attending graduate school will be like in the future.
Already a co-author of three artificial intelligence conference publications, Boldi is a busy student. In addition to his rigorous courses, he is studying the field of evolutionary computation—a type of machine learning that takes inspiration from evolutionary principles in biological systems.
In 2022, Boldi was awarded the John E. and Alice M. Flynn Scholarship, as well as the Dean’s Merit Scholarship for his exemplary academic work and demonstrated passion for computer science.
“The John E. and Alice M. Flynn Scholarship allows me to continue my personal development at UMass without needing to worry about financial support. For this, I am very grateful.”
Thanks to generous contributions from Department of Computer Science alumnus Daniel E. Flynn ’87, the John E. and Alice M. Flynn Scholarship was established in 2013 to honor his late parents. The scholarship provides support to undergraduate students majoring in computer science, with preference given to students with financial need.
PROFESSORSHIPS:
Kathryn McDermott
Professor, School of Public Policy & College of Education
Dwight W. Allen Distinguished Professor in Education Policy and Leadership
A reflection of her joint appointment in the School of Education and the Center for Public Policy and Administration, Professor Kathryn McDermott’s research focuses on how federal, state, and local education policy affects educational equity. In 2015, she coedited a special issue of the Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences on the 50-year history of how the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act has changed U.S. public education. With funding from the Spencer Foundation, she has researched the ways in which local politics often lead to school-choice policies that do not make equity a priority. This research has been published in the American Educational Research Journal, Educational Policy, and Education Policy Analysis Archives. Continuing her relationship with the Spencer Foundation through an additional grant, McDermott is researching how the transition from President Obama to Donald Trump affected federal policies on education and civil rights. So far, this has led to an article forthcoming in Education Policy Archives, and a brief from the National Education Policy Center at the University of Colorado.
McDermott has been teaching courses in U.S. education policy and politics at UMass Amherst since 1999.
“The late Steven Gluckstern ’74EdD created the Allen Professorship to honor a visionary dean [College of Education] and build the college’s capacity to contribute to the public conversation on education policy. I’m honored to be part of this legacy.”
PROGRAMS AND RESEARCH:
Paros Center for Atmospheric Research
This year, the College of Engineering received a $10 million gift from Jerome Paros ’60 and Linda Paros aimed at accelerating its innovative work in atmospheric research and hazard mitigation. The gift—the largest ever received by the college—will provide discretionary support for the new Paros Center for Atmospheric Research, funding for the Paros Fellows/Scholars Endowed Fund for graduate fellowships and undergraduate scholarships, and funding to establish the Paros Chair of Atmospheric Research and Hazard Mitigation.
Building upon the university’s leadership in the field through the Center for Collaborative Adaptive Sensing of the Atmosphere (CASA)—an engineering research center housed at UMass and established through prior National Science Foundation support—the Paros gift will enable UMass researchers to expand CASA’s original mission to explore new frontiers in atmospheric measurement, science, and technology.
“This transformative gift is a recognition of the tremendous talent and expertise we have at UMass Amherst. Jerry and Linda Paros are enabling us to build on our established track record of accomplishment in ways that will have a profound impact on our nation and the global community. This gift will greatly enhance our capability to translate research in areas such as radar systems, the internet of things, data science and artificial intelligence, and unoccupied aerial vehicles into real-world hazard mitigation systems. It is an extraordinary investment, and we are deeply grateful.” –Dean Sanjay Raman, College of Engineering
