Two University of Massachusetts alums have donated $5 million to establish a named faculty chair and scholarships in Judaic and Near Eastern studies and programming in the Institute for Holocaust, Genocide, and Memory Studies.
The bequest will also provide support for UMass Hillel, which offers programming and resources to Jewish students, according to a UMass press release.
The gift is part of the $300 million UMass Rising fundraising campaign. That campaign launched in 2013 has alreadey exceeded its goal.
Half of the bequest, $2.5 million, will be used to create the Pamela M. and Robert D. Jacobs Chair in Judaic and Near Eastern Studies within the College of Humanities and Fine Arts, according to the release.
“Pamela and Robert Jacobs have demonstrated tremendous vision in their commitment to the quality of education and scholarship at UMass Amherst,” said Chancellor Kumble R. Subbaswamy in a statement. “
Gifts for faculty chairs represent pivotal investments in the intellectual leadership of the university. We are deeply honored to be a part of the Jacobses’ extraordinary philanthropic legacy.”
Both Pamela and Robert Jacobs are graduates of UMass Amherst and active volunteers for the university. Pamela Jacobs, who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in English in 1969, is a member of the board of directors of the UMass Amherst Foundation.
Robert Jacobs received his bachelor’s degree in government in 1968 from UMass Amherst and his law degree from American University in 1971. Robert Jacobs was a founding partner of the Washington, D.C.-based legal advisory and research firm Rock Creek Partners LLC, where he currently serves as senior counsel.
