DURHAM, N.H. - Dozens of the state's top students will benefit from the generosity of long-time benefactor Dana Hamel, whose $10 million gift will provide scholarship support for Granite State students at the University of New Hampshire.

"This gift will make an enormous difference in the lives of so many of our students," said UNH President Mark Huddleston. "Thanks to Dana's generosity and commitment to the state of New Hampshire and its people, we can compete for the state's best and brightest students. Access and affordability are the two single most important challenges we face as an institution, and it is partnerships like this one that will help us succeed."

UNH enrolls 16,000 students each year and nearly six in 10 are from New Hampshire. This gift is the largest in school history committed solely to in-state student support.

"I have long believed that UNH must play a dominant role in determining our state's political, cultural, environmental and economic future," said Hamel. "I hope this gift will inspire others to support the university. It will take all of us working together to make a difference."

The Hamel family established the Hamel Scholars and Hamel Scholarships Program in 2007 to provide scholarships and special recognition to exceptional students who have demonstrated academic excellence, leadership and community involvement. This new gift will allow increased scholarships for the state's most promising students.

Timothy Marquis, a senior biomedical sciences major with plans to attend medical school, is one of those Hamel Scholars. He originally selected UNH for financial reasons, but said he quickly realized how many opportunities were available to him thanks to programs like the Hamel Scholars Program and the Hamel Center for Undergraduate Research.

"I appreciate Mr. Hamel's recognition of the qualities of academic rigor and dedication to community service that Hamel Scholars exhibit, including me. The financial support in the form of a scholarship is significantly aiding my aspirations of going to medical school," Marquis said. "Through the many experiences he has provided, I have come to appreciate the unique value of public schools - of UNH."

In addition to the Hamel Scholarships and Hamel Scholars Program, the Hamels made a generous gift in 1996 to complete the Hamel Student Recreation Center. In October 2000, the family, along with others, endowed the Hamel Center for Undergraduate Research, which provides ongoing funding for UNH's International Research Opportunities Program and Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program.  

Dana and his wife Karol reside in North Palm Beach, Fla., and Tuftonboro, N.H. He received an AB in economics from Harvard College in 1952 and an MBA from the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration in 1954. After serving as an officer in the U.S. Army's Quartermaster Corps, he worked for Dow Chemical and a small start-up business before co-founding Penn Corporation in 1964. He was chairman of the Princeton, New Jersey, consumer products company until it was sold in 1987. He is currently an active investor and serves on the investment committee of the New Hampshire Historical Society, as well as the UNH Foundation.

The University of New Hampshire, founded in 1866, is a world-class public research university with the feel of a New England liberal arts college. A land, sea, and space-grant university, UNH is the state's flagship public institution, enrolling 12,300 undergraduate and 2,200 graduate students.

Image to be downloaded: /unhtoday/news/releases/2014/09/images/hamel-3334.jpg
Caption: Long-time benefactor Dana Hamel, whose $10 million gift will provide scholarship support for Granite State students at the University of New Hampshire