AMHERST — A $50 million gift, one of the largest ever received by Amherst College, will go to support the new student center and dining commons, which is expected to open for the fall semester as the Ford Student Center.
The gift comes from William “Bill” Ford, a member of the Class of 1983, his wife, Molly Ford, and the Ford family. Bill Ford is the chairman and chief executive of General Atlantic, a global investment firm based in New York.
“This building will be the crossroads of campus life at Amherst,” Ford said in a statement. “It is designed to bring students together in the ways that matter most — spontaneously, across differences, in the conversations that no algorithm can replicate. I am proud that our family can play a part in creating that space.”
Designed by Swiss architectural firm Herzog & de Meuron, the new, 144,000-square-foot building is rising on the foundation of the former Merrill Science Center, which closed in 2018 when the college opened the more modern, state-of-the-art Science Center. The building is envisioned as connecting the upper and lower portions of the campus.
In addition to Ford’s own ties to Amherst, his brother, Mark Ford, graduated in 1985; his son, Billy Ford, graduated in 2013; and his nephews, Ryan Ford and Andrew Ford, graduated in 2021 and 2019, respectively. Ford also served on the college’s Board of Trustees from 2001 to 2013 and has chaired its investment committee, and in 2018 Greenway Dorm A was named Ford Hall in his honor.
“Bill Ford’s gift is a profound expression of faith in Amherst’s mission and its future,” said President Michael A. Elliott. “It reflects both the values that have always defined this college, and a core belief in the power of rigorous, curiosity-driven education to shape exceptional lives and contribute to a better world. We are deeply grateful to Bill and the entire Ford family.”
In 2009, the college received two anonymous cash gifts totaling $125 million, with the larger at $100 million, at the time believed to be the largest any liberal arts college had ever received. Those donations, from self-described Amherst College graduates, were part of a $425 million comprehensive fundraising campaign titled Lives of Consequence.
A decade later, the estate of William McCall Vickery left $25 million to the college’s endowment, with all but $3 million of that going to the Emily Dickinson Museum.
The Ford Student Center will house dining facilities, spaces for student organizations and various flexible gathering areas.
