University of Virginia alumnus and Board of Visitors member John L. Nau III (Col '68) has committed $20 million to the College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences to attract exceptional graduate students and to enhance their education and experiences once on Grounds.

The gift comes from Nau personally and also through the John L. Nau III Foundation. The University has matched $10 million of the gift, meaning the total impact to the College will be $30 million. The donation, earmarked for the College’s Campaign for Graduate Excellence, will fully endow fellowships for 30 graduate students and pushes the campaign more than halfway to its goal of raising $150 million.

“I deeply respect John as a friend and as one of the University’s most generous supporters,” UVA President Jim Ryan said. “John’s remarkable commitment reflects his enduring belief in the transformative power of education and his many connections to the UVA community. I’m grateful for his support of graduate education, which is critical to the academic mission of the University.”

Christa Acampora, Buckner W. Clay Professor of Philosophy and dean of the College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, launched the campaign in April 2023. The impact, she said, was almost immediate; graduate applications have increased 22% in a year, in part because of more competitive offers and graduate living support. In addition to pursuing their education, graduate students typically teach and mentor undergraduates, assist faculty, and participate in scientific and humanities research, making them a vital part of the University, Acampora said.

In early 2024, Acampora announced new investments of nearly $25 million over the next three years to enhance the College’s research capabilities. In December, the College announced a nearly 15% increase in living support for current and incoming graduate students, to $36,000 annually. The College said at the time that funding increases “will boost UVA’s ability to recruit and retain the best graduate students.”

“I am truly grateful to John Nau for his extraordinary gift, which will enable us to attract exceptional talent,” Acampora said. “At a time when other universities are experiencing a crisis in resources for graduate education, the College is achieving a position of strength, enabling us to foster a vibrant intellectual environment where students can thrive as scholars, mentors, and collaborators.”

Nau, who served in the U.S. Marine Corps before enrolling in UVA and graduating with a history degree, has a long and generous history of supporting his alma mater. He is a founder and past president of the College Foundation, a member of the Board of Visitors, and the board’s current appointee to the College Foundation Board of Trustees. He is also a member of the University’s Honor the Future Campaign Executive Committee.

“The College is the heart of UVA-helping to improve the academic product is an honor for me,” he said.

Nau and his foundation’s previous philanthropic commitments total more than $100 million, including support for the University’s Institute of Democracy and establishing and endowing the John L. Nau III Center for Civil War History within the College  In addition, support for the Democracy Initiative includes endowing the Democracy Initiative Core Lab and its 10 professorships, support for the College’s Program on Constitutionalism and Democracy and the Dean’s Fund for Democracy.

Other gifts include the Nau Collection (a Civil War-era archives collection) and a lead gift for the construction of Nau Hall at the South Lawn, home to the Corcoran Department of History and the Nau Auditorium.

He previously established the John L. Nau III Endowed Graduate Fellowships in American History to support outstanding Ph.D. candidates, as well as the Nau Professorship in History and the John L. Nau III Graduate Fellowship in History.