Binghamton University receives $5.6 million gift to support innovative faculty research
From the Ho Foundation, it is the largest single gift Binghamton has ever received from an organization
The S. H. Ho Foundation Ltd. has made a $5.6 million gift to propel the pioneering research of Binghamton University faculty. It’s the largest single gift Binghamton has ever received from an organization.
This new endowment will provide, in perpetuity, approximately $200,000 annually in vital seed grants for faculty University-wide to advance current or emerging research at the intersection of health sciences and technology. The grants will be awarded based on an application process that will begin this fall, with recipients screened by a University committee and final awards determined by President Harvey Stenger, Provost Donald Hall and Vice President for Research Bahgat Sammakia. Funding will be awarded as soon as January 2024.
Moreover, the gift is expected to trigger an endowment match from New York state that would infuse the campus with an additional $2.5 million. As part of its fiscal year 2024 budget, the state announced it will match at 50%, donor gifts to the endowments of the State University of New York’s four university centers, including Binghamton.
“This gift is a powerful endorsement of Binghamton faculty excellence and an important investment in research opportunities that will have real-world impact,” Stenger says. “We deeply appreciate this transformational gift to enhance Binghamton.”
“Donors advance faculty success and help elevate the University’s reputation for innovative and meaningful research,” Hall adds. “This crucial support fosters an environment in which Binghamton’s top-ranked researchers can launch or further their projects and could result in the next great breakthroughs in technology or health sciences.”
The S. H. Ho Foundation Ltd. was founded by the Ho family, whose connection to Binghamton developed as Martha Ho, MA ’78, earned her graduate degree in economics.
Martha and her husband, David Ho, are co-owners of Pacific BMW in California and avid University supporters, including as EXCELERATE Campaign Committee members.
Through the Ho Foundation, they previously established a scholarship at Binghamton to support high-achieving, first-year students with financial need, and aid in student recruitment and retention.
“My Binghamton education was first rate,” Martha Ho says. “We are proud to be a part of EXCELERATE and all of the exciting developments to give students access to an exceptional education and to expand opportunities for dynamic and collaborative research discoveries.”
Now in its seventh and final year, the EXCELERATE campaign has raised $181.9 million to date and is expected to exceed its $220 million goal. Learn more at excelerate.binghamton.edu.