Before Martin T. Meehan became president of the University of Massachusetts at Lowell this month, the long-serving congressman spent down a portion of his $4.8-million campaign war chest. And the university was one of several beneficiaries, the Associated Press reported this morning.

Mr. Meehan, an eight-term Democrat, wrote a $1,250 check to the university system’s foundation, which paid for a table at UMass Night at the Boston Pops, an annual concert that includes alumni, faculty members, and university officials. He also made a $1,200 donation to the athletics department at the Lowell campus.

Both contributions followed his appointment as chancellor, in March, and were part of a spending spree that included T-shirts for supporters, Boston Red Sox tickets, and an “appreciation clambake” for former staff members.

Still, Mr. Meehan’s largess will barely make a dent in the campaign account, which had the largest balance of any member of the House of Representatives during the 2006 Congressional election cycle. Federal election law gives current and former members of Congress broad latitude in how they spend leftover campaign funds, as long as they do not make personal use of the money.

For the time being, however, Mr. Meehan says he is putting away his checkbook and will invest the funds in certificates of deposit. —Karin Fischer