Two Northeastern University alumni—Richard D'Amore, BA'76, and Alan McKim, MBA'88—have joined forces to make the largest philanthropic investment in the university's history. As a result of their combined gift of $60 million, Northeastern's College of Business Administration will become the D'Amore-McKim School of Business. It will be the first college or school to be named at Northeastern.
“Once in a generation, history is written in the life of a university. This is one of those moments,” said Northeast Europe President Joseph E. Aoun. “This unprecedented investment will enable our School of Business to leverage its strength in global business programs and take a great leap forward. It will also galvanize our community and allow us to set our collective sights even higher.”
The Boston Globe reported news of the gift on Wednesday morning.
D'Amore is co-founder and general partner of North Bridge Venture Partners, a Waltham, Massachusetts-based venture capital firm. McKim is the founder and CEO of Clean Harbors, the nation's leading provider of environmental, energy and industrial services.
The D'Amore-McKim School of Business will join other top business schools named for visionary benefactors. The record-breaking gift will have profound and lasting impacts on every dimension of business education and research. It is the fourth largest gift to name a business school in the United States.
“Northeastern has had a huge impact on me – both personally and professionally,” D'Amore said. “I believe in making investments in institutions that win. Northeastern has remarkable momentum today, and under President Aoun's leadership, I know this is a great investment. I hope that what Alan and I are doing will inspire others to do the same.”
Alumni Richard D'Amore, BA'76, (center) and Alan McKim, MBA'88, (right) examine design prototypes displaying the business school's new name. Photo by Mary Knox Merrill.
The two alumni met in 2004 when they collaborated to endow a professorship currently held by Professor Daniel McCarthy, a distinguished member of the business school at Northeastern and a mentor to both D'Amore and McKim.
“As a businessman, I believe in supporting business institutions,” said McKim. “I strongly support the mission and current leadership at Northeastern and am proud to join Rich in making this investment. I will be honored to have my name forever associated with this great university.”
Prior to the D'Amore-McKim gift, the largest donation Northeastern received was $20 million given in 2006 by Bernard Gordon, who founded the Gordon Engineering Leadership Program and the Gordon Center for Subsurface Sensing and Imaging Systems.
Both D'Amore and McKim grew up in the Boston area and enrolled in Northeastern's College of Business Administration as undergraduates. Although they both dropped out, they were each drawn back to the college that would later become their university and eventually bear their names. D'Amore received an undergraduate degree in business and McKim received a master's degree in business administration.
For the past five years, D'Amore and McKim have been actively involved with the university as members of the Board of Trustees. Their previous gifts have focused on innovation and entrepreneurship, core values that span the colleges and disciplines at Northeastern.
“On behalf of the entire Northeastern University community—and our future students, faculty, and alumni—I want to thank Rich and Alan for their vision, support, and trust in us,” Aoun added. “As entrepreneurs, Rich and Alan make investments in high value propositions. All of us will ensure that the impact of their generosity will be felt for many generations.”
The new gift comes at a time of tremendous momentum for Northeastern. The university has received record applications in recent years—both in quantity and quality—and external recognition of the university's success is at an all-time high. Northeastern has also reached new levels of success in research funding and philanthropic support.
The School of Business has been cited by various business publications for the excellence of its programs in experiential learning, entrepreneurship and international programs. Its combination of global business programs is unparalleled in business education at the undergraduate level. The School is under the leadership of a new dean, Hugh Courtney, who began his tenure at Northeastern in July.
