The University of Massachusetts has announced a $50 million gift from alumni Robert J. ('84) and Donna Manning ('85, '91) in support of efforts to increase access and opportunity across the five-campus university system.

The largest-ever commitment to the university includes an initial distribution of $15 million to endow the UMass Boston nursing program, which will be renamed the Robert and Donna Manning College of Nursing and Health Sciences. The gift will be focused on supporting student diversity and ensuring that the new cohort of nursing professionals are champions of equitable patient care. In the coming months, the Mannings plan to announce additional distributions from the overall gift to improve access and opportunity on the other UMass campuses in Amherst, Dartmouth, Lowell, and Worcester.

The Mannings, who met in high school, commuted to UMass Lowell as students. Upon graduation, Robert began working at MFS Investment Management as a research analyst and eventually became president, CEO, and chair. Donna retired from Boston Medical Center in 2018 after a thirty-five-year career as an oncology nurse. The couple previously awarded $11 million to UMass Lowell to name the Manning School of Business and have endowed several faculty chairs, sponsored a nursing simulation lab, and established the Robert and Donna Manning Endowed Scholarship Fund. In addition, the Manning Prize for Excellence in Teaching is awarded to faculty on all five UMass campuses for high-impact teaching.

"For the majority of my career in Boston, I was struck by the fact that most of the nurses looked like me while most of the patients didn't," said Donna Manning. "UMass Boston plays a critical role in supporting diversity in Boston, and I have seen first-hand how diversity in the nursing workforce can improve patient care and address health inequities. We look forward to actively working with the college on these important goals."

"This transformational gift from Rob and Donna comes at the right time and the right place and for a beautiful cause: to foster a culture of healing and health equity in Boston and beyond. It will enable UMass Boston to take the education of the next generation of nurses nobly serving as caregivers to the next level of excellence and engagement," said UMass Boston chancellor Marcelo Suárez-Orozco. "Amidst a pandemic, rampant medical disinformation, nursing shortages, and the heroism of healthcare workers, we at UMass Boston are more committed than ever to cultivating extraordinary nursing talent. The Mannings' historic gift will be put to use to nurture the next generation of health and wellness scientific expertise, but also the humane heart, the empathy and cultural awareness that define caregiving in its truest sense."