Douglas and Diana Berthiaume Donate $20 Million to Isenberg

Dear Isenberg Community,

I’m writing today to share some wonderful news: Doug and Diana Berthiaume have committed to making the largest cash donation in Isenberg’s history—$20 million.

I am personally grateful to the Berthiaumes for their commitment to Isenberg, and for their support of our vision to be recognized as a world-class business school that transforms lives, organizations, and society through education, research, engagement, and diversity and inclusion efforts.

I am incredibly excited by the opportunities that this generous gift will provide for us in the coming years. The $20 million gift provides $7 million for the creation of endowed faculty positions and chancellor professorships, thus helping our efforts to sustain faculty excellence by allowing us to attract, retain, and support outstanding scholars and educators. The gift also includes $11.5 million to support our doctoral program and our new behavioral research lab. Collectively, these dollars support our research and educational mission as faculty and doctoral students conduct cutting-edge scholarship focused on important and relevant business and societal challenges. Lastly, the Berthiaume gift includes $1.5 million in support of faculty research via the Berthiaume Center for Entrepreneurship, which was founded in 2014 with a $10 million gift from the Berthiaumes.

In total, this gift will further Isenberg’s position among the very best business schools as we continue to increase our impact on business theory and practice and lead in offering innovative educational programs and career opportunities.

We should all be proud that the Berthiaumes consider Isenberg worthy of this gift. This is because of you and all that you do to make our school exceptional. I’m also proud that our school produces graduates who make a point of sharing their success. We strive to create global citizens and inclusive leaders and watching Isenberg alumni work to make the world a better place provides a wonderful example to our students and should inspire all of us.

Doug Berthiaume graduated with an accounting degree in 1971, and went on to become chairman, president, and chief executive officer of Waters Corporation, a Milford, Mass.-based company. Now retired, he serves as chairman of the Boston Children’s Hospital Board of Trustees and is a founding director of the UMass Amherst Foundation. He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from UMass Amherst in 2005.

Read more about Doug and Diana Berthiaume and their very generous gift here.