UMass Dartmouth receives $500,000 bequest

DARTMOUTH – Otilia Ferreira, the daughter of a Portuguese American radio and newspaper personality, has gifted the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth with a $500,000 bequest.
The gift will be used to establish scholarships, research and outreach efforts for the Ferreira Mendes Portuguese-American Archives.
The new endowment will be named “The Rosa and Esther Santos-Ferrreira Endowment.”
The archives are named for Affonso Gil Mendes Ferreira, whose daughter, Otilia Ferreira, is the archives’ major sponsor.
The archives house the nation’s largest collection of historical material documenting the experience of Portuguese immigrants and their descendants.
“Naming the Ferreira Mendes Portuguese-American Archives was a lifelong dream come true,” Otilia Ferreira said in a statement. “Our commitment to Portuguese has not wavered. The legacy of our family and others in the Portuguese community will live on in the archives.”
UMass Dartmouth Chancellor Divina Grossman said the archives are important to the university, and in particular to its Portuguese-American community.
“To know the story contained within the archive is to understand this region and understand the American Dream,” Grossman said.
The generosity of the gift “demonstrates a love of this place that bears your father’s name,” Grossman added. “It demonstrates a passion for educating the community about the contributions that Portuguese-Americans have made to this region, state, nation and the world.”
The new fund will support scholarships for students enrolled in a degree program for Portuguese studies or communications, and other initiatives.

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