Nichols alum donates $100K for student scholarships

Photo | Courtesy of Nichols College Nichols College campus in Dudley, Mass.

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By Isabel Tehan

Nichols College in Dudley has received a $100,000 commitment from an alum, 1972 graduate Ed Donahue. Donahue’s donation will support students from areas local to Dudley.

Donahue is a native of the Central Mass. town, and has been on Nichols’ board of trustees since 2013, according to a Wednesday press release from the college. Donahue, now retired and living in Houston, Texas, was CFO for now-closed TransTexas Gas Corp. and senior vice president and CFO at Texas-based Vitruvian Exploration, both oil and gas companies.

Donahue is establishing an annual scholarship for students nearing graduation who would otherwise not be able to finance their final years of study.

“Students who have worked so hard to get to their junior year only to be forced to drop out or delay their college education because of financial hardship is an extremely unfortunate situation,” said Donahue in the press release. “I feel that the annual scholarship can provide financial support for such students and give them the opportunity to continue their education and receive their well-earned and deserved degrees.”

Donahue and his wife previously created the Ed Donahue ’72 and Karen Jankowski Endowed Scholarship in 2017, which is earmarked for a commuter student studying accounting or finance, according to the press release.

Nichols College has a student enrollment of 1,080, and tuition of $52,910, according to its website. Some 98% of students receive financial aid, and it has a four-year graduation rate of 60.5%. It has an endowment of $36 million.