UMass President Marty Meehan calls for increased philanthropic support amidst federal challenges in annual State of the University Address

Contact: Colleen Quinn, [email protected]

BOSTON - Calling philanthropic giving a "lifeline" for the university's mission, UMass President Marty Meehan called on supporters and alumni to support the university amidst the upheaval and funding disruptions stemming from federal policy, during his 9th annual State of the University address delivered this week.

The importance of private philanthropy and other revenues has grown more urgent as colleges and universities expect continued upheaval from the federal government, according to President Meehan. UMass receives nearly $1 billion in federal funding every year through a combination of research funding, student financial aid, and other revenues.

"No one entity shapes the future of our state, transforms the lives of more people, or contributes more to social mobility than UMass," President Meehan said. "But it's no secret that these are trying times for all of higher education."

"Since last February, a sustained campaign from the federal government to reshape higher education in the United States has threatened both the affordability of a college education and the federal research investments that have long been the backbone of both research universities and American innovation," he said. "They have attempted to cut Pell grants for our students, placed limits on graduate student loans, and proposed reductions to federal work-study and opportunity programs. At the same time, federal policymakers have attempted to change how research is funded in ways that will disproportionately harm Massachusetts."

The stakes for the Commonwealth are enormous. For decades, Massachusetts' innovation economy has been powered by a highly educated workforce - of which UMass alumni are the largest population - that helped grow the industries that make Massachusetts a global leader in research and innovation. Federal cutbacks and delays to research funding and policy shifts have detrimental impacts on the university and could have long-lasting consequences for Massachusetts' economy.

According to a recent UMass Donahue Institute report, the Massachusetts research and development economy and its spinoff effects supports 28 percent of state employment, provides 40 percent of all income earned, and drives $347 billion in overall economic activity. As the Commonwealth's public research university, UMass plays a significant role in that research economy with approximately $937 million annually in research expenditures, including $520 million in federal research funding to the state each year. UMass has the third-largest university research portfolio in Massachusetts and fourth largest in New England.

Amidst the uncertainty, generous donors and alumni have continued to come forward with historic gifts and smaller contributions that provide support for everything from student financial aid to research for lifesaving treatments. In his message, President Meehan detailed several examples from the past year, including UMass Amherst alumnus Dan Riccio's $50 million gift to the College of Engineering which now bears his name; John and Elizabeth Armstrong's $4 million gift to fund research at UMass Amherst; James and Cathleen Stone's $10 million commitment to the Stone Living Lab at UMass Boston which researches nature-based climate resiliency strategies for coastal communities.

"Under President Meehan's leadership, the UMass endowment has more than doubled, growing by more than $1 billion to a record-high $1.8 billion," said UMass Board of Trustees Chair Stephen Karam. "That kind of growth happens by inspiring people to believe in UMass and believe in what public higher education can do for our students, communities and the Commonwealth."

President Meehan, through his private charitable foundation, has committed more than $3.7 million to the university. Recently, he announced a new $1.5 million commitment to UMass Lowell to support student internships and career-connected experiences for students in the College of Fine Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences.

The annual address was recorded at the recently renamed Martin T. Meehan Student Center at UMass Lowell. The student center was dedicated last week to honor President Meehan in recognition of his new charitable commitment as well as in appreciation of previous gifts raised during his tenure as UMass Lowell chancellor and president of the University of Massachusetts system.

"Philanthropy is a lifeline for our mission, and over the past decade, we've built a culture of giving at UMass that's changed how we view ourselves, and how the world views this university," President Meehan said. "It's my hope that my own commitments will demonstrate how deeply I believe in our mission, and in our students and faculty, and will inspire others to do the same."

Meehan also praised the performance of the UMass Foundation under former Board of Trustees Chair and current Chair of the UMass Foundation Board of Directors Robert J. Manning, who made a record-breaking $50 million gift with his wife Donna Manning in 2021. At the time, it was the largest gift in the university's history.

"Under his leadership, the UMass endowment was ranked the top-performing in the nation last year, meaning an investment in UMass went further last year, than at nearly any other university in the country," Meehan said about Manning. In January, Institutional Investor ranked UMass as the top-performing university endowment in the nation.

The annual State of the University address is distributed to nearly 400,000 members of the UMass community.