Kevin Donahue

Off the Court

UMass alumni, as Kevin Donahue tells it on the shows. Each story was checked against its source.

• George Ruffin BridgeforthFirst Black UMass Amherst graduate

  George Ruffin Bridgeforth, class of 1901, was the first Black graduate of UMass Amherst, and went on to be an agriculturist at Tuskegee Institute. First one through the door, over a century ago. Respect.

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• Madeleine KuninFirst woman governor of Vermont

  Madeleine Kunin, class of 1956, became the first woman governor of Vermont and a U S ambassador to Switzerland. Amherst to the statehouse to the Alps. Not a bad road trip.

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• Catherine ColemanNASA astronaut

  Catherine Coleman got her doctorate here in 1991 and became an astronaut. So yeah, the commute from Amherst can get pretty long.

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• Jack WelchFormer General Electric CEO

  Jack Welch, class of 1957. They called him Neutron Jack, because the employees vanished and the buildings stayed. G E went from 411,000 workers to 299,000 in five years, and he left with 417 million in severance. Our chemical engineer, everybody.

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• Ryan SalameFTX executive, pleaded guilty

  Ryan Salame, economics, class of 2015, ran an F T X subsidiary in the Bahamas. He pleaded guilty to campaign finance and illegal money-transmitting charges and got seven and a half years in May 2024. Nine years from diploma to sentencing. Efficient.

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