AMHERST — Research across the University of Massachusetts is being underwritten through $4 million in gifts and commitments from longtime supporters John and Elizabeth Armstrong.
The gifts will establish the UMass Amherst Research Continuity Fund, the Armstrong Graduate Research Grant Fund and the Armstrong Chancellor Professorships Award Fund, and come at a time when there is uncertainty related to federal funding for American universities, university official said in announcing the financial gifts on Wednesday.
“As a public, land-grant university, UMass Amherst has a duty to support research that will benefit our local communities, the commonwealth and the world,” Chancellor Javier A. Reyes said in a statement. “The Armstrongs’ commitments will enable us to build a stronger foundation for this work and reinforce the university’s mission to educate, innovate and produce new knowledge that serves the common good.”
The Armstrongs are longstanding donors, volunteers and friends of UMass, maintaining a commitment to faculty support and driving innovation in the physical sciences, and have offered their philanthropy in other ways, such as donating $1 million to expand the emergency department at Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton.
John Armstrong served as director of research and vice president for science and technology during a 30-year career with IBM, while Elizabeth Armstrong volunteered and eventually worked for the United Way in Westchester, New York. They came to Amherst in 1995.
“At a time of great uncertainty about federal funding for research, the Armstrongs are demonstrating vital leadership by providing stable funding for faculty members whose research and mentorship of students fuel fundamental discoveries, viable solutions to society’s most pressing challenges and training of the next generation of leaders in their fields,” said Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Fouad Abd-El-Khalick.
In fiscal year 2025, UMass researchers received $180 million in federal funding to support their work. Following recent changes in federal funding guidelines, UMass began exploring alternative ways to accelerate the most promising research programs and retain the faculty at what is considered the top public research university in New England.
In April, the Armstrongs made a $500,000 gift to the UMass Amherst Research Continuity Fund, established to provide immediate support of vital research in the face of federal funding interruptions, and questions about future funding in fields such as health equity, climate change and gender-related issues.
Mike Malone, vice chancellor in the Office of Research & Engagement, said faculty, students and staff are grateful for this assistance. “This generous support from John and Elizabeth provides not only welcome financial assistance but also equally important encouragement for all the participants in our research and innovation enterprise,” Malone said.
The Armstrong Graduate Research Grant Fund, established with a $1 million gift, will provide grants in support of research conducted by UMass graduate students. This fund will be a resource for doctoral students pursuing dissertation research, graduate student access to training in innovative methods and students looking to participate in research projects supervised by faculty that directly foster their completion of an advanced degree.
This donation is being called ” a gamechanger for graduate education” by Graduate School Dean Jacqueline Urla, adding that it will help attract the best and brightest students.
“Like federal funding, graduate fellowship opportunities have been shrinking significantly,” Urla said. “This generous research fund is a one-of-a-kind opportunity to help graduate students conduct the innovative research they came here to do.”
Finally, the remaining $2.5 million portion of the Armstrongs’ commitment will create an endowed Armstrong Chancellor Professorships Award Fund. Administered by the chancellor and provost, this fund will allow the university to retain outstanding, tenured faculty members who have made or can make significant contributions to the academic reputation of the university and prevent a “brain drain” that universities in the United States are experiencing.
Award holders, to be known as Armstroing Chancellor Professors, will receive support for expenses related to their research and teaching for a renewable term of three years.
John Armstrong explained that there are tangible benefits for society from UMass research, and that the gifts will help introduce students at all levels to the methods, practices and rewards of conducting research dedicated to advancing the common good.
“Elizabeth and I have supported the work of faculty and researchers at UMass because we feel that they form the foundation for the university’s mission,” Armstrong said. “Every day, faculty are developing new ideas, pushing the boundaries of their fields and training the succeeding generations of scholars.”
Prior to the latest gift, the Armstrongs created the Armstrong Professional Development Professorship in 2001 and established the Armstrong Fund for Science in 2006 to identify and support promising research that does not yet have enough data to attract external funding.
In 2014, they partnered with another family to establish the Armstrong/Siadat Endowed Professorship in Materials Science, which is awarded to a researcher studying materials science in the UMass Amherst Chemical Engineering Department.
John Armstrong has served on the UMass Amherst College of Engineering Dean’s Advisory Council and the Electrical and Computer Engineering Advisory Committee. The Armstrongs are founding members of the UMass Amherst Foundation and were honored with the Distinguished Honorary Alumni Award in 2003. In 2022, they received the Excellence in Service Award, which honors outstanding and significant contributions of service to the university through professional or volunteer advocacy.
In 2004, the UMass system also awarded the couple the President’s Medal, the highest honor bestowed by the university.