Category: Philanthropy
$8 Million Gift from Richard Shipley to Expand Technology’s Role in Education
An $8 million gift from Richard Shipley (Questrom’68,’72), a BU trustee emeritus, will help the University expand digital learning, a goal outlined in its 2030 Strategic Plan. Shipley’s gift will fund the Shipley Center for Digital Learning & Innovation, an all-University resource, which will be associated with the Center for Teaching & Learning and will be overseen by the associate provost for digital learning and innovation.
MassMutal Donates $1 Million to Faculty of Computing & Data Sciences
MassMutual’s donation is the first partnership for the fledgling academic unit. The money will be spread out over three years, with two primary purposes: to create the MassMutual Professor of the Practice Fund and to launch the MassMutual Fund for the Faculty of Computing & Data Sciences, which will aim to hire a program manager and software engineer to support experiential learning activities; organize diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in the center; and award approximately six $10,000 MassMutual Externship stipends to undergraduates.
BU and Red Hat Extend Partnership for Cloud Research
BU and Red Hat, the world’s leader in open-source solutions, extend their partnership for five years. The renewal includes Red Hat donating software subscriptions valued at $551.9 million and committing $20 million to fund research and education in open source and emerging technologies. The Collaboratory, as the partnership is called, began in 2017 with $5 million in grants from Red Hat.
Rockefeller Foundation Awards $1.5 Million to BU Antiracism Center
The Rockefeller Foundation, a global science-driven philanthropy founded more than a century ago, is giving the BU center $1.5 million over two years to tackle questions around racial disparities in the United States—and to provide solutions. While most of the grant is unrestricted, a significant portion will fund the center’s COVID-19 Racial Data Tracker.
Twitter and Square Cofounder Donates $10 Million to BU Antiracism Center
Jack Dorsey, Twitter and Square cofounder, donated $10 million to Boston University’s Center for Antiracist Research, just six weeks after it was launched by leading scholar Ibram X. Kendi. Of the total gift, $9 million will go to the center’s endowment and $1 million will be available for immediate use, allowing the center to hire staff and fund its first research and policy teams on COVID-19 racial disparities.
Vertex Foundation Gives $1.5 Million to BU Antiracism Center
The gift will support the center’s research and data collection to identify innovative policies that may reduce or eliminate racial disparities in the United States. To help the center enhance relationships in, and dialogue with, the community, the foundation’s donation will also support the center’s annual public symposium on a topic relating to antiracism. The nonprofit Vertex Foundation is a long-term source of charitable giving and part of the corporate giving commitment of Boston-based global biotechnology company Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Comprehensive Campaign Final Tally: $1.85 Billion
Far surpassing its original goal of $1 billion, the campaign drew to a close in September, demonstrating the tremendous generosity and collective will of the BU community. More than 175,000 people donated to the campaign, which was launched to support financial aid, faculty and research, and facility improvements.
Karen Engelbourg Named Senior Vice President for Development & Alumni Relations
As vice president for development, Karen Engelbourg managed individual giving during the wildly successful $1.85 billion comprehensive campaign (the fundraising target was reset after gifts surpassed the initial $1 billion goal), overseeing a 90-person team. She was chosen as the next senior vice president for development & alumni relations as a result of a national search conducted by a six-member committee of trustees and senior leaders.
Trustee Richard Cohen’s Challenge Bolsters Need-Based Financial Aid
Cohen (CGS’67, Questrom’69) pledges to match, dollar for dollar, new or increased gifts for need-based undergraduate financial aid—doubling their impact—up to a total of $1 million. Donors who take the Cohen Challenge help the University in its ongoing quest to make undergraduate education affordable for all students.
Alum Pardee Pledges Another $25 Million for Global Studies
Five years after donating $25 million to endow the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies, Frederick Pardee (Questrom’54, Hon.’06) committed additional support for developing the next generation of global leaders through education and research. His gift could pave the way for a stand-alone building for the school he helped to create.
