Recent Gifts from Steven and Michael Jaharis and Steve Tisch

September 4, 2007

Dear Members of the Tufts Community:

I would like to inform you of two recent gifts that will improve the quality of life for students on the Boston and Medford/Somerville campuses.

It gives me great pleasure to announce a new gift to the School of Medicine from a family that has long been involved with the school as its most ardent advocates and benefactors. Steven Jaharis, M.D., M’87, a member of the Board of Overseers to the School of Medicine, and his father, Michael Jaharis, Trustee emeritus and Chairman of the school’s Board of Overseers, have made a commitment of $15 million from the Jaharis Family Foundation for new facilities at the school. This gift will fund the remodeling of the Sackler Center for Health Communications to provide a Campus Center that will offer an inviting and comfortable home base for students and foster a stronger sense of community for students and faculty on the Boston campus. The Campus Center will include first-rate teaching and learning space, study areas, lounges and a fitness center. The Jaharis family’s gift will also fund the creation of a Clinical Skills and Medical Simulation Center that will facilitate the use of new technology to provide hands-on learning experiences for medical students, enabling first- and second-year students to gain critically important experience in physical diagnosis and other clinical skills in preparation for their third- and fourth-year rotations. We plan to begin construction on these projects in spring 2008.

I am also thrilled to announce that Steve Tisch A’71, Academy Award-winning film producer and Chairman and Executive Vice President of the New York Giants, has made a commitment of $10 million to support Tufts’ planned $30-million athletics and fitness facilities expansion and renovation. Tufts will name the Steve Tisch Sports and Fitness Center in recognition of his generous support. It will provide 30,000 square feet of newly constructed space between Cousens Gymnasium and the Gantcher Family Sports and Convocation Center, which will include an expanded fitness center and sports medicine suite, men’s and women’s team locker rooms, renovated general use and faculty locker room space, three new multipurpose teaching and activity rooms, a new coaching office suite and administrative offices, and a dramatic new central entrance and entry plaza. When complete, the entire project will also provide a new swimming pool, the conversion of Hamilton Pool into squash courts, and the realignment of the basketball court in Cousens Gym to meet NCAA regulations. These facilities will be an important step forward in ensuring the university’s continued excellence in athletics. We anticipate that construction will begin in fall 2008.

We are deeply grateful to Steven and Michael Jaharis and Steve Tisch for their passion for enhancing education and student life at Tufts and their willingness to step up with very generous support of the Beyond Boundaries campaign.

Lawrence S. Bacow
President