#UMassGives 2018

We hope that you’ll participate in our mission of enhancing the student experience, our dedication to faculty excellence, and our drive to cultivate the next generation of social change-makers my making a gift during #UMassGives!

An Incredible Gift from the Estate of Jerry Mileur

We are delighted to announce that Jerry Mileur, beloved Political Science faculty member and baseball fan provided $400,000 in his estate which was realized, fittingly, today, on UMass Gives.  Jerry was an incredibly generous man who devoted his life to students.  In death, he provided this generous funding so that students, who would like to participate in experiential learning like internships, study abroad and research, may do so regardless of their financial means.  If you’d like to make a gift in honor of Jerry today, please do so by clicking GIVE NOW! and selecting the Social and Behavioral Sciences Dean’s Priority Fund. 

Matching Gifts & Challenges

Political Science has a new challenger!  Generous alumnus Dan Feder has pledged an additional $50,000 in challenge funding to scholarships in Political Science if they can reach to $35,000.  

Dan has an acute awareness of the importance of the presence of scholarships and a robust endowment, saying "I have worked as an investor at three of the nation’s largest endowments and have first-hand awareness of how impactful this sort of funding can be in helping ensure access to enriching educational opportunities, especially for those who are pursuing intellectual exploration in the humanities.  The availability of financial aid and some scholarships allowed me to pursue my intellectual passions at the University of Massachusetts.  I will be forever grateful for this and it gives me great satisfaction to contribute to the university’s endowment through a scholarship awarded annually to students who plan to pursue graduate studies in political science.” 

Unlock $100,000 for our Greatest Needs Fund: If the UMass College of Social & Behavioral Sciences can raise $100,000 during #UMassGives, the Rodell Family has very generously offered to make a donation of an additional $100,000! This donation would go towards providing support for critical student needs across the college.

Donations made to any of the academic departments within SBS, the Dean's Priority Fund, and UMass Women into Leadership will all count towards our $100,000 goal. Simply choose your gift area within SBS in the drop-down menu.

Unlock $25,000 for Sociology: Dr. Margaret Andersen ’76 PhD and Richard Rosenfeld have generously pledged $25,000 in challenge funding, which will be unlocked if Sociology receives gifts totaling at least $5,000.  Don’t miss the  Power Hour from 2-3pm EDT on April 26.  Select Sociology from the drop-down menu.

$100,000 UMass Women into Leadership (UWiL) Challenge: Last year, UWiL raised $8,000 during #UMassGives. If we can double that amount this year, we can unlock an additional $100,000 in funding from UWiL mentor Jean Vogel '82. That’s right – an extra $100,000 for just $16,000 raised for UWiL. To make a gift to UWiL, click here.

What kinds of things will my gift support?

While many of the needs we face within departments overlap, there are some differing priorities. Here is a small sample of where your contribution will go:

Department of Journalism

• Funding courses that address crucial topics in contemporary journalism, such as Social Justice Journalism, which will address issues of race and society.
• Supporting a Community Journalism course that connects undergraduates with high school students in Springfield to serve as mentors and writing coaches.
• Provide financial support for the Amherst Independent – A new student-run publication focused on covering the city of Amherst and local news.

Department of Economics

• Provide economics undergraduates with research assistantships through the EURA program, in which students work with highly esteemed faculty to to gain valuable research assistantship experience normally reserved for graduate students.
• Support students completing field work and internships in the Certificate in Applied Economic Research in Cooperative Enterprises program. Students in this program must complete field-based research internship with, or related to, a cooperative enterprise. These internships are often unpaid and can be a challenge to support oneself through.

Department of Sociology

• Undergraduate and graduate student support in the form scholarships and fellowships.
• Recruitment and retention of the next wave of brilliant social scientists, who will continue to provide a high quality educational experience to our sociology students.
• Provide funding to assist in research that enriches and improves society, human life, and human potential.