Cornell received five major donations that resulted in name changes in its colleges and schools in the past six years, exceeding the amount of similar donations in the past 30 years, according to figures published in the Cornell Chronicle.
David A. Duffield ’62 M.B.A. ’64 made a $371.5 million pledge to the College of Engineering in January, marking the single largest donation in University history and the most recent instance of the University renaming a college for a donor. Duffield’s donation is one of five large University donations in the past six years, and one of eight in the past 30 years.
The Sun timelined large donations made to the University over the past 30 years and spoke to students and the University to better understand how donations impact Cornell.
Donations Through the Years
The first college renamed in the last 30 years occurred in 1998, when Cornell University Medical College, originally founded in 1898, was renamed to Weill Cornell Medicine. This renaming followed a $100 million gift to the University from Joan and Sanford I. Weill ’55.
In 2010, a $25 million donation from the family of John Dyson ’65 established the Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management.
In 2017, H. Fisk Johnson ’79 M.Eng ’80 M.S. ’82 M.B.A. ’84 Ph.D. ’86 donated $150 million to the College of Business, endowing it as the S.C. Johnson College of Business.
The past six years have marked an uptick in donations leading to namesake colleges.
Ann S. Bowers ’59 made a nine-figure commitment in late 2020 to create Bowers College of Computing and Information Science. This donation has since been followed by a string of four more name-adopting donations in the past six years.
In 2021, the School of Hotel Administration received a $50 million donation from Peter Nolan ’80, M.B.A. ’82 and Stephanie Nolan ’84 which led to its renaming from the School of Hotel Administration to the Peter and Stephanie Nolan School of Hotel Administration. 2021 also saw a donation of an unknown amount from Jeb E. Brooks M.B.A.. ’70 and the Brooks Family Foundation, leading to the naming of the Brooks School of Public Policy, a little over a year after the school’s creation had first been announced.
In December, a new school for global development and the environment was announced and named the Ashley School of Global Development and the Environment after Stephen B. Ashley ’62 M.B.A. ’64 endowed $55 million to the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. This contribution aligns with the growing trend of large donations being reflected in the names of colleges and schools within the University.
The Ashley school donation came amid the $371.5 million donation to the David A. Duffield College of Engineering.
Impact of Donations and Naming Changing Process
The decision process behind naming schools is “highly individualized” and “emerge[s] gradually through collaborative discussions,” a University spokesperson wrote to The Sun. Every large donation renaming is passed through the Board of Trustees and “grounded in the long-term benefit” for students and academic programs, according to the University spokesperson.
The recent donation from Duffield was announced just three months after the University came to a settlement with the Trump administration on Nov. 7. In this settlement, the University agreed to pay $30 million to the federal government, alongside an additional $30 million contribution to agricultural research.
A University spokesperson also noted the importance of donations during periods of “financial uncertainty.”
The University has experienced “fiscal pressures” according to an August statement released by the top University administrators. This statement is one of several amid the $250 million in frozen federal grants in April 2025 and over 120 stop-work orders.
“During periods of financial uncertainty, private philanthropy is especially important because it gives the University the agility to pursue critical opportunities and maintain commitments like student financial aid and academic innovation,” the University spokesperson wrote.
This recent donation leaves one COE student wondering how they will see the effects of such a large contribution.
“It’s hard to see where the money is actually going and what purpose it serves,” said Amrita Talwar ’27, an engineering student studying computer science.
$250 million of Duffield’s contribution will be used primarily as an endowment, referred to as the Duffield Legacy Fund. This fund will be used to support the college’s “strategic opportunities.” $50 million of this donation is reserved for priorities in the college related to “educational excellence.”
The remainder of Duffield’s gift will go to the creation of the Duffield Launch Fund to address infrastructure, research and student priorities in the college.
Talwar describes the COE’s current identity as “pre-professional.”
Duffield, who in total has contributed $550 million to the University across multiple colleges, told the Chronicle that he “welcome[s] the opportunity to help advance technological research, innovation and leadership at Cornell.”
Talwar hopes to see this donation and the renaming of the COE expand its pre-professional identity, making it more “research-focused” as well.
“I think if [the identity] does change it, it could only be for the better,” Talwar said when asked how she thinks the renaming will impact the identity of the COE. “I think there are opportunities to make it different.”
Talwar noted in particular that she hopes more funding will go into research projects which have been “underfunded previously.”
“Cornell is fortunate to receive broad support from donors across the spectrum, from recent graduates making their first gift to families establishing major endowments,” the University spokesperson wrote. “Gifts of all sizes make a difference.”
Zeinab Faraj is a member of the class of 2028 in the College of Arts and Sciences. She is a features editor on the 143rd Editorial Board and was the assistant sports editor of the 143rd Editorial Board. You can reach her at zfaraj@cornellsun.com.
