Largest gift ever to support emergency aid for students
UMass Boston alumnus Jack Carvalho ’92 has donated $100,000 to the Beacon Student Aid Fund, which provides emergency one-time grants to students who have urgent financial needs. The gift from Carvalho is the latest in a series of generous donations from him over the past dozen years and the largest gift ever specifically for emergency student aid at UMass Boston.
“Jack Carvalho’s generosity knows no boundaries,” noted Interim Chancellor Katherine Newman. “He steps forward without being asked. Jack understands how critical philanthropy is to the success of UMass Boston’s students. We are eternally grateful for this historic gift.”
The Beacon Student Aid Fund provides small grants to students who face a particular financial challenge, such as paying rent or food and living expenses. The coronavirus pandemic has seen a surge in students needing assistance, with most requests stating they are out of work or have reduced hours due to COVID-19 and need help paying for basic needs. The demand for assistance has outpaced available resources.
“I am very proud to be a Beacon,” Carvalho said. “So many students are facing a challenging time. I hope that this gift will encourage an outpouring of support from my fellow alumni and friends of UMass Boston to contribute to this fund. We are all in this together; let’s help these kids out.”
Carvalho’s support for UMass Boston has ranged from funding scholarships to supporting the lacrosse team to, now, providing assistance to students facing financial emergencies. A first-generation college student, he created in 2007 the Roger Feinstein Memorial Scholarship for First Generation College students, in honor of his former political science professor. Four years later he increased his annual gift to benefit two students per year.
In 2017, Carvalho founded and endowed the Winston Langley Graduate Scholarship in International Relations in recognition of the former provost and eminent scholar of international relations. And in 2018 and 2019 he made $100,000 donations to support the UMass Boston Beacons Lacrosse team, which he played for as a student.
Carvalho grew up in Inman Square, Cambridge, and Union Square, Somerville. He is a cum laude graduate of UMass Boston and holds an MBA from the Manderson Graduate School of Business at the University of Alabama. He is a managing director at Morgan Stanley in its Private Wealth Management division. For more than 25 years he has provided banking services to some of the world’s wealthiest family groups, their corporations, and other affiliated holdings. He resides in Miami with his family.
The Jack Carvalho Family Fund, through which his philanthropy is directed, was set up more than a decade ago and has helped dozens of students complete their college educations at UMass Boston and the University of Alabama.