Copyright The Boston Globe
CONCORD, N.H. – Saint Anselm College will receive a $40 million donation from Robert and Beverly Grappone, the college’s president Joseph Favazza announced Tuesday. The gift is the largest in the history of the college, according to a spokesperson. Favazza called the gift “transformational” and said it “will shape Saint Anselm today, tomorrow, and for generations to come.” Robert Grappone is a retired automobile executive, whose family ran several car dealerships; his wife Beverly Grappone is a retired health care professional. “We originally were involved with the college because of our calling to honor our son, Gregory,” Beverly Grappone said during the announcement on Tuesday. She and her husband spoke over a video livestream from their home in Naples, Florida. Gregory Grappone graduated from Saint Anselm in 2004, and shared his love of the institution with his parents, Favazza said. When he died from cancer in 2015 at 35 years old, his parents decided to honor his life by supporting his alma mater, according to a college spokesperson. “We’re supporting an institution that has been strong to begin with, but we want to make sure it becomes even stronger in the future,” said Robert Grappone. Advertisement Their gift includes $11 million for a newly approved Robert J. Grappone School of Business and Innovation, $5 million for the Grappone Humanities Institute, and multi-million dollar gifts for the renovation of certain residence halls on campus, an athletic complex, and the creation of a scholarship for nursing students, among other projects. Located in Manchester, Saint Anselm College is a Catholic, Benedictine liberal arts college, with more than 2,000 full-time undergraduate students and 153 full-time faculty in 2024. The college is home to the New Hampshire Institute of Politics, which has hosted hundreds of potential candidates for the U.S. presidency. The donation is among the largest to an institution of higher education in the state. In 2024, Dartmouth announced a $150 million gift (a spokesperson said the final amount ended up totaling more than $200 million). In 2008, the University of New Hampshire received a $25 million gift. Advertisement Amanda Gokee can be reached at amanda.gokee@globe.com. Follow her @amanda_gokee.
