The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania has received the largest gift in its history – $60 million from alumnus Bruce Jacobs.
The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Massachusetts each reported receiving record gifts from alumni on Monday. The Wharton School was given $60 million — its largest gift in history — from Bruce Jacobs. UMass Amherst received its largest gift ever — $50 million for its engineering programs — by alumnus Dan Riccio.
The Wharton Gift
With Jacob’s donation, the Wharton School is launching the Dr. Bruce I. Jacobs Master of Science in Quantitative Finance (MSQF) program, its first new degree offering in 50 years.
“Wharton is the world’s top business school because it consistently leads at the forefront of fields like quantitative finance,” said Penn President J. Larry Jameson, in a news release. “Dr. Jacobs has long been a champion for Wharton’s preeminence in this essential area, and we are deeply grateful for his historic gift. This new, innovative, hands-on graduate program will further advance our University’s strategic focus on data and AI while preparing our quantitative finance students and scholars to lead in a rapidly changing world.”
The new program is initially intended for Penn students, who can complete it with just one additional year of coursework following a bachelor’s degree. The first cohort is scheduled to begin in fall 2026.
The program will consist of six required courses emphasizing data science, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and financial markets. Students will be able to choose from more than 30 electives in fields such as accounting, business economics, computer science, engineering, operations, and statistics. They also will gain practical experience by regular exposure to practitioners, regulators, and other market participants. The final semester will include a hands-on research project concerning real-world problems faced by quantitative asset management firms.
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Bruce Jacobs earned both an M.A. in applied economics and his Ph.D. in finance from the Wharton School. He is principal and co-founder of Jacobs Levy Equity Management where he serves as co-chief investment officer, portfolio manager, and co-director of research. The author of several books and scholarly articles on equity markets, Jacobs has been a long-timer supporter of the Wharton School and has previously served on its finance faculty.
“When I was at the Wharton School, quantitative finance was in its infancy. Now, it is an essential discipline in this data-driven world,” said Jacobs, in the university’s announcement. “By bridging theory and practice, the MSQF program will have a lasting impact on the industry and many future generations of students, as well as ensure the Wharton School will be at the forefront of this dynamic field,” he added.
University of Massachusetts
The University of Massachusetts-Amherst is being given $50 million over 10 years by Daniel Riccio, who graduated from UMass in 1986 with a degree in mechanical engineering and then went on to become senior vice president of hardware engineering at Apple, before retiring after a 26-year career. The gift, the largest ever for the campus, will be used to support the university’s engineering program. In recognition, UMass will name its engineering college the Daniel J. Riccio Jr. College of Engineering at a celebration to be held later this fall.
“We are deeply grateful to Dan for his transformational gift and commitment to the future of engineering at UMass Amherst,” said UMass Amherst Chancellor Javier Reyes, in announcing the gift. “His forward-thinking philanthropy and belief in our research and the impact of a UMass education will elevate the entire campus and empower UMass engineering students to shape their environment and the world for generations.”
The largest portion of the Riccio donation — $40 million — will be used to fund an endowment for the college. Of that, $10 million will go toward undergraduate scholarships, $5 million will be used for graduate fellowships, and $12 million will endow eight faculty professorships. An additional $5 million will fund a deanship, $3 million will support a chair in biomedical engineering, and $5 million will establish a research fund for faculty fellowships, emphasizing cross-disciplinary collaboration.
A $10 million catalyst fund will support three additional priorities 1) exploring the intersection of technology and health through a partnership with UMass Chan Medical School; 2) developing a design curriculum with the College of Humanities and Fine Arts; and 3) creating an engineering leadership program in collaboration with the Isenberg School of Management.
“As a proud alum, I’ve seen UMass Amherst, including its College of Engineering, become a world-class institution over the past 20 years. While UMass has come a long way, I believe it has untapped potential and with the right level of investment and support, its best days are yet to come,” said Riccio, in the university release. “This said, I’m excited to make this gift and partner with UMass to take the College of Engineering to the next level and build on its mission of revolutionizing engineering and making the world a better place.”
Riccio and his wife, Diane M. (Casey) Riccio, who also has a PhD from UMass, have a significant philanthropic history with the university. They previously pledged $15 million to fund ALS and neuroscience research at UMass Chan Medical School, which bestowed honorary degrees on the couple at its 2021 commencement ceremony.
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