By The Berkshire Eagle,Umass Handout Photo
Copyright berkshireeagle
AMHERST — The University of Massachusetts Amherst has received the largest gift in its history — a $50 million donation from alumnus and former Apple executive Daniel J. Riccio Jr. — to support scholarships, faculty recruitment, research initiatives and new programs in its College of Engineering. In recognition, the school will be renamed the Daniel J. Riccio Jr. College of Engineering, with a naming celebration scheduled for later this fall.
Riccio, who earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in engineering from UMass Amherst and spent 26 years as a top innovator at Apple, said he hopes the gift will help the college reach its “untapped potential.”
“As a proud alum, I’ve seen UMass Amherst, including its College of Engineering, become a world-class institution over the past 20 years,” Riccio said. “With the right level of investment and support, its best days are yet to come.”
The donation will fund a wide range of priorities, including $40 million for undergraduate scholarships, graduate fellowships, professorships and a chair in biomedical engineering. Eight new distinguished faculty members will be recruited or retained, and a deanship and faculty fellowships will be established.
The gift also includes a $10 million catalyst fund to support the college’s highest priorities. Initial plans call for three prospective investment areas: partnerships with UMass Chan Medical School to explore the intersection of technology and health, a design curriculum with the College of Humanities and Fine Arts, and an engineering leadership program with the Isenberg School of Management.
University leaders hailed the gift as a “transformational” investment in the state’s flagship public research institution.
“His forward-thinking philanthropy and belief in our research and the impact of a UMass education will elevate the entire campus,” said Chancellor Javier Reyes.
Gov. Maura Healey called the donation a “monumental step forward” for research and innovation in Massachusetts, while Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll said it will help ensure the state remains “at the forefront of engineering and scientific discovery.”
The university will contribute an additional $25 million in matching funds and institutional resources to amplify Riccio’s gift, directing the money toward faculty recruitment and graduate student enrollment.
Riccio, who led Apple’s product design and hardware engineering teams behind the iMac, iPhone, and iPad, lives in Atherton, Calif., and Marblehead, Mass., with his wife, Diane, who also has deep ties to the UMass system. The couple previously donated $15 million to support ALS and neuroscience research at UMass Chan Medical School.
