Northfield Mount Hermon (NMH), a private boarding and day school in Mount Hermon, Massachusetts, has announced a $50 million bequest from alumnus John Mitchell (’56) in support of financial aid and faculty.

The largest gift ever to NMH—and one of the largest made to an independent school—will enable NMH to expand its student financial aid program and provide faculty support and has inspired the NMH board of trustees to raise the goal of its capital campaign, This Place, This Moment: The Campaign for Northfield Mount Hermon, from $225 million to $275 million. In addition, through its Our Moment Match program, the funding will support matching gifts for the NMH Fund, scholarship support, and special initiatives.

Mitchell, who was his class valedictorian, was able to attend NMH due to scholarship support. Following graduation, he earned degrees from Yale and New York University, and then served as president of global manufacturing at Pfizer. From 2006 to 2016, he served on the NMH board of trustees; he died in 2022.

“[This gift is] an act of generosity from an exceptionally accomplished alumnus who was modest in his profile but profound in his gratitude for the education he received,” said head of school Brian Hargrove and NMH board chair Monie Thomas Hardwick (’74) in a joint statement. “John credited his time at NMH as a turning point in his life and held tight to the habits and values nurtured at NMH—hard work, critical thinking, integrity, and service.”

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