UMass President Marty Meehan Joins John Fuller, Michelle Fuller in Making Major Contributions to Create Endowed Professorship at UMass Amherst

AMHERST, Mass. – UMass President Marty Meehan has joined with two alumni, John Fuller ’89 and Michelle Fuller ’89, to endow the new Fuller and Meehan Endowed Professorship in the Isenberg School of Management at UMass Amherst. The Fullers and Meehan each contributed $250,000 to the endowment, which was matched with $1 million from the Isenberg family to create the $1.5 million professorship.

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The $250,000 donation from the Marty Meehan Educational Foundation is the largest gift ever from a sitting UMass president to the UMass Amherst campus. The purpose of the endowed fund is to advance excellence at Isenberg, including retaining or attracting outstanding faculty to make a significant contribution to the school’s academic reputation.

UMass Amherst Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy thanked all three donors for their exceptional support of the university.

“Marty Meehan is very clear about his dedication to public higher education and its power to transform lives,” Subbaswamy said. “This gift will promote academic excellence at UMass and the university’s life-changing ability to advance social mobility and economic growth. He has again demonstrated that he is truly a dedicated champion for UMass.”

Meehan became the 27th president of UMass in July 2015, making him the first undergraduate alumnus to lead the five-campus system. One of seven children and a first-generation student, he graduated cum laude from UMass Lowell with degrees in education and political science. He went on to earn a master’s in public administration from Suffolk University, and a juris doctor from Suffolk University Law School. He followed a career in public service and in 1992 was elected to represent the 5th Congressional District of Massachusetts in the U.S. House of Representatives. After serving in Congress for 14 years, Meehan became chancellor of UMass Lowell in 2007. During his tenure, the Lowell campus achieved success across all key metrics, and his achievements led to his appointment as UMass president.

“John Fuller received his BBA in accounting from Isenberg, and we are deeply grateful for his commitment to sustaining excellence in business education,” the chancellor said. “As the founder of Fuller & Company, John is the principal architect of the firm’s ‘whole growth approach’ to helping clients build wealth, placing them in a position to also contribute to the greater good.”

Before starting Fuller & Company, he worked for an investment banking firm and is an investment and tax advisor in New York and Massachusetts. He holds a Series 7 General Securities license and is qualified to sell all types of life, disability and health insurance and variable annuities in Georgia.

Subbaswamy said, “Michelle Fuller earned her bachelor’s degree in marketing from Isenberg, and we are profoundly thankful to her for providing such impactful support to UMass. Her commitment to community is reflected in her dedication as a volunteer at the Trinity School in Atlanta, an independent school serving ages 3 through sixth grade, as well as her previous service as the chair of the Growing Leaders Campaign Cabinet for Trinity School.”