Glowy fall afternoon aerial of UMass Amherst campus with the Old Chapel in the foreground
Campaign Progress

Accelerate: The Campaign for UMass Amherst Progress Report

On July 1, 2018, UMass Amherst began a $600-million campaign with three objectives: revolutionizing access to education, growing investment in academic excellence, and magnifying the university’s impact on the common good.  

Campaign Progress: $611,067,200

Goal: $600M
100%

Thanks to the generosity of more than 83,000 donors, the Accelerate campaign surpassed the $600-million mark 18 months ahead of the campaign end date of June 30, 2027. 

Constituency Breakdown

Constituency Breakdown: Undergraduate and Graduate Alumni – 48.4% ($295.5 million) Organizations – 37% ($226.3 million) Friends – 14.6% ($89.3 million) Includes $8.4 million from non-alumni parents $14.5 million from faculty/staff

Overall Priorities Breakdown

Overall Priorities Breakdown: Programs – 54.4% ($332.4 million) Student Aid – 29.4% ($180 million) Support for Faculty/Staff – 10.9% ($66.6 million) Facilities – 5.3% ($32 million)

Campaign Yearly Progress ($611.07 Million Total)

Campaign Yearly Progress totalling $611.07 Million: Lead Gifts: $12.3M; 2019: $55.9M; 2020: $47M; 2021: $60.2M; 2022: $125.2M; 2023: $79.8M; 2024: $69.3M; 2025: $111.3M; 2026: $49.7M

Campaign Highlights

Naming Gifts

Over the course of the campaign, UMass Amherst received three transformative gifts to expand teaching, research, and student success in the College of Engineering, the College of Nursing, and the College of Information and Computer Sciences. 

$50 million

Dan Riccio Jr. ’86, ’24 MS made the largest individual gift to the campaign to support all aspects of UMass Amherst’s engineering program. The college is now known as the Daniel J. Riccio Jr. College of Engineering. 

$21.5 million

The Elaine Marieb Foundation made a transformative gift to support nursing education and innovation. The college is now known as the Elaine Marieb College of Nursing. 

$18 million

Robert J. and Donna M. Manning made a gift to information and computer sciences to support the college’s vision: Computing for the Common Good. The college is now known as the Manning College of Information and Computer Sciences. 

Leading the Way

Several principal and major-level gifts are already having a profound impact on teaching, research, community partnerships, and the student experience.

Business—Not as Usual

Exterior image of Isenberg School of Business

A $20 million lead gift to the Isenberg School of Management from Doug ’71, ’05 hon. and Diana Berthiaume invests in faculty expertise, doctoral student support, and the expansion of entrepreneurship across campus, the region, and the state. 

Paros Center for Atmospheric Research

Exterior photo of Marston Hall with student walking in front

A $10 million gift from Jerome ’60 and Linda Paros endowed the Paros Center for Atmospheric Research in the Riccio College of Engineering. Research conducted at the center is helping cities improve their responses to hazardous weather through atmospheric research, distributed sensing, and hazard mitigation systems.  

Accelerating Innovation

Headshot of Paul Manning ‘77

Paul ’77 and Diane Manning, through the Manning Family Foundation, have committed more than $8 million to establish and expand the Manning Innovation Program, which provides grants to advance applied research and development efforts in the sciences and engineering through the creation of start-up companies and the licensing of intellectual property.   

Protecting Promising Research

Aerial of Campus

Longtime supporters John and Elizabeth Armstrong made gifts and commitments totaling $4 million to advance a broad range of disciplines in the university’s research enterprise in light of funding pressures related to changes in federal research funding.  

Campus-wide Support

U Scholarship

John F. Kennedy ’76 MS committed $1.6 million to support the endowment of the John F. Kennedy Teaching Fellows and John F. Kennedy Technology Sandbox at the Isenberg School of Management. He also made the first seven-figure gift to UMass Athletics’ Script U Scholarship Fund, committing $1 million to expand access for student-athletes. 

Collective Impact

Natural Sciences Research

Hand holding beaker with a tiny lobster

The College of Natural Sciences has raised $41.3 million designated specifically for research. 

Flagship Scholarships

Graduates walking to their seats for commencement

Established in 2024, the Flagship Scholarship Awards have raised $366,457 to date to help low-income, in-state students afford a UMass education. In 2025–26, the first eight recipients were awarded $6,000 per year for four years. 

UMassGives

Students sitting on grass holding UMassGives signage

Over the course of the campaign, UMass Amherst’s annual 48-hour online giving effort has raised more than $14.5 million to support departments, student organizations, scholarships, athletics, and emergency funds.