AMHERST — A $50 million commitment, representing the largest gift in the history of the University of Massachusetts campus, will support current and future initiatives in research, academic excellence and access and opportunity for engineering students.
The gift from 1986 UMass mechanical engineering graduate Daniel J. Riccio Jr., a former leader and innovator at Apple for 26 years who also earned a master’s degree in manufacturing engineering in 2024, marks a pivotal moment for the commonwealth’s flagship public research university and signals a new era of innovation and impact for the top-ranked public engineering program in New England, according to campus leaders.
In recognition of Riccio’s generosity, UMass is establishing the Daniel J. Riccio Jr. College of Engineering, with a naming celebration to be held this fall.
“We are deeply grateful to Dan for his transformational gift and commitment to the future of engineering at UMass Amherst,” UMass Chancellor Javier Reyes said in a statement. “His forward-thinking philanthropy and belief in our research and the impact of a UMass education will elevate the entire campus and empower UMass engineering students to shape their environment and the world for generations.”
Riccio said he has seen the university’s College of Engineering, and UMass as a whole, become a world-class institution over the past 20 years.
“While UMass has come a long way, I believe it has untapped potential and with the right level of investment and support, its best days are yet to come,” Riccio said, adding that the gift will help it build on a mission of revolutionizing engineering and making the world a better place.
The gift will be divided into two parts. The bulk of the gift, or $40 million, will support scholarships for undergraduate engineering students, graduate fellowships, a chair in biomedical engineering, professorships for the recruitment and retention of eight distinguished faculty members and a deanship, as well as faculty fellowships.
The endowed Riccio Research & Innovation Fund will play a key role in shaping the future of the college, strengthening its contributions to knowledge, advancing cross-disciplinary collaborations and fostering innovation ecosystems.
The remaining $10 million will create a catalyst fund to provide flexible support for the Daniel J. Riccio Jr. College of Engineering’s highest priorities, including three prospective areas of investment. Those are exploring the intersection of technology and health by partnering with UMass Chan Medical School in Worcester; developing a design curriculum in conjunction with the College of Humanities and Fine Arts; and creating an engineering leadership program in collaboration with the Isenberg School of Management.
Gov. Maura Healey issued a statement about the gift being “a monumental step forward in lengthening our lead in research and innovation.”
“In Massachusetts, we believe in making investments to help cure diseases, fuel our economy and drive us forward,” Healey said.
Riccio and his wife, Diane M. (Casey) Riccio, who live in Atherton, California, and Marblehead, Massachusetts, have made contributions toward biomedical and health research in the past. In 2022, they pledged $15 million to fund ALS and neuroscience research at UMass Chan.
Riccio has been an active member of the Dean’s Advisory Council for the College of Engineering since 2023. In April 2025, he was recognized with the College of Engineering Outstanding Alumni Award, and in May 2025 he received the UMass Amherst Distinguished Achievement Award.
Diane M. (Casey) Riccio earned her doctorate in cell biology from the Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at UMass Chan Medical School in 2003 and currently works to raise awareness of and funds for dementia care, support and research with the Alzheimer’s Association of Northern California and Northern Nevada, where she is on the board of directors.
Others affiliated with UMass also expressed appreciation for the donation, including Stephen Karam, who chairs the UMass board of trustees, and Marty Meehan, president of the UMass system.
“This is the largest gift in UMass Amherst history, and all of us at UMass are honored that the College of Engineering will now bear Dan’s name and benefit from his continued leadership and engagement,” Meehan said.
Riccio’s gift will be amplified through $25 million in institutional resources, including matching funds made available from a UMass endowment matching program. The university’s commitment will be directed to the Riccio endowments, strategic faculty recruitment and enrollment of talented graduate students in the Riccio College of Engineering.
“Dan’s exceptional generosity will change the trajectory of the college’s future by supporting more opportunities for aspiring engineers and the faculty-student teams working on today’s most pressing problems,” said Sanjay Raman, who will now serve as the Daniel J. Riccio Jr. Dean of Engineering.