$371.5 million mega-gift from David A. Duffield redefines the future of engineering at university

David A. Duffield quietly but decisively reshaped the future of his alma mater with a $371.5 million gift to Cornell University, the largest single donation in the university’s history.

The contribution will endow Cornell’s engineering college, which will now bear his name, cementing a relationship between benefactor and institution that spans more than six decades and reflects a deeply personal belief in the power of education to drive long-term societal change.

The gift brings Duffield’s total philanthropy to Cornell to $550 million, placing him among the most significant university benefactors in the United States. More than a symbolic act, the endowment is designed to give the engineering college both permanence and flexibility at a moment when technological transformation is accelerating across nearly every field.

At the heart of the donation is the $250 million Duffield Legacy Fund, intended to provide ongoing strategic support to the college, alongside an additional $50 million dedicated specifically to educational excellence. The remaining funds will be deployed through the Duffield Launch Fund, enabling immediate investments in infrastructure, faculty recruitment, and research initiatives in areas such as quantum engineering, artificial intelligence, and human health.

Cornell’s decision to rename the college the Cornell David A. Duffield College of Engineering reflects not only the scale of the gift, but also the coherence of Duffield’s long-standing engagement with the school.

His relationship with Cornell dates back to his undergraduate years, when he earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering in 1962, followed by an MBA in 1964. Over the years, his philanthropy has mirrored the evolution of engineering itself—from physical spaces to interdisciplinary research and, now, to institutional endowment at a generational scale.

The 2026 gift builds directly on a $100 million commitment made in 2025, which focused on expanding Duffield Hall and renovating Phillips Hall to create new research space dedicated to quantum computing, robotics, and advanced engineering collaboration. Those projects extended a philanthropic lineage that began in 1997 with Duffield’s initial $20 million gift to name Duffield Hall, one of the university’s central engineering facilities. He has also supported access and research through the Duffield Family Cornell Promise Scholarship and the Duffield Institute for Animal Behavior at Cornell’s College of Veterinary Medicine, reinforcing his belief that innovation and compassion are not mutually exclusive pursuits.

Duffield’s career has been defined by an unusual blend of technological rigor and human-centered leadership. Over a span of more than 60 years, he founded six enterprise software companies, including PeopleSoft and Workday, both of which transformed how large organizations manage people and finance.

That same emphasis on people—customers, employees, and communities—has carried into his philanthropic life. Alongside his wife, Cheryl, Duffield founded Maddie’s Fund in 1994, now one of the most influential foundations in the American animal welfare movement, with more than $300 million in grants dedicated to advancing a no-kill nation for companion animals.

At Cornell, however, Duffield’s giving reflects a distinct but related conviction: that engineering education sits at the crossroads of economic opportunity, scientific discovery, and public good.

By endowing the college rather than narrowly funding individual programs, he has given the institution the autonomy to adapt to future challenges that cannot yet be fully defined. University leaders have described the gift as transformational not only in scale, but in structure—an investment that strengthens Cornell’s ability to attract top faculty, support students across socioeconomic backgrounds, and pursue research that bridges disciplines and serves society.

For Duffield, the gesture is less about legacy in the traditional sense than about continuity. His philanthropy to Cornell has unfolded gradually, in dialogue with the university’s needs and ambitions, culminating in a gift that ensures stability while encouraging boldness.

In an era when higher education faces mounting financial and technological pressures, the creation of the Cornell David A. Duffield College of Engineering stands as a rare example of long-term, values-driven investment—one that links a singular entrepreneurial career to the enduring mission of a great research university.