The Russell and McLean Education Endowment will offer scholarships for educational supplies
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UMass Dartmouth recently received a $1 million gift from alumni Sanford “Hew” Russell ’82 and Dr. Michelle McLean-Russell ’81 to support students enrolled under the UMass Dartmouth Deal, a program designed to provide financial support to in-state, undergraduate students from families with an annual income of $75,000 or less.
The Russell and McLean Education Endowment will extend scholarships for the purchase of books and other instructional supplies for eligible full-time students who are receiving financial support through the UMass Dartmouth Deal to pursue their first bachelor’s degree. The scholarship awards, which will become available in fall 2026, will prioritize supporting the greatest number of students possible for students who are residents of Bristol County, with priority for students enrolled in the College of Engineering, followed by students in the College of Visual and Performing Arts. Eligible students will receive no less than $1,000 per academic year.
For talented, motivated students who face financial challenges to obtain a college degree, the UMass Dartmouth Deal makes higher education accessible, and the additional support from dedicated alumni donors like the Russells ensures that a student can focus on their education. When additional expenses such as fees, books, and supplies add up and force a student to seek ways to subsidize them, a scholarship from The Russell and McLean Education Endowment will alleviate that financial burden.
“This has been the result of our life's work—to allow us to make a meaningful, lasting difference for students and remove the same financial barriers that I also faced as a student," said Russell. "That's why Michelle and I established this endowment to support as many students as possible, not just today, but forever—and why it was important that this gift be endowed so it continues supporting UMass Dartmouth students in the future.”
“Hew and Michelle’s extraordinary generosity exemplifies the power of our alumni community to transform lives,” said Chancellor Mark A. Fuller. “By removing financial barriers and ensuring that students have the tools they need to succeed, this endowed gift will open doors for generations of talented students, particularly here on the SouthCoast. Their commitment reflects the very best of UMass Dartmouth—academic excellence, opportunity, and a deep belief in the potential of our students.”
Russell recently retired after a 24-year career at NVIDIA, a world leader in accelerated computing, where he ran product management for the industry's first graphics processing unit (GPU) and later the parallel programming platform (CUDA) that forms the foundation for today's advances in data science and artificial intelligence. He has remained connected to UMass Dartmouth, serving on the College of Engineering's Advisory Board. Michelle McLean-Russell is a clinical psychologist who received a multidisciplinary degree in psychology and fine art from UMass Dartmouth, and went on to earn a master's degree from Lesley University and a PhD in clinical psychology from Palo Alto University.