University President Anthony Monaco last month became the newest member of the Cummings Foundation, Inc. (CFI) Board of Trustees.
CFI, which was founded by Trustee Emeritus William Cummings (A'58) and his wife Joyce, is one of the largest charitable foundations in the state and boasts over $900 million in net assets.
Monaco, who joins several Tufts alumni as well as Cummings School Dean of Veterinary Medecine Deborah Kochevar on the board, succeeds Former University President Lawrence Bacow in the position, according to Joel Swets, executive director of CFI.
In addition to its two independent and assisted living facilities, the foundation actively operates the Institute for World Justice (IWJ), an organization that focuses on genocide prevention through education and which has worked closely with Tufts Hillel, according to Swets. The Cummings School, which was renamed in 2005 after a $50 million grant from the organization, is also one of its subsidiaries.
Monaco explained that Tufts' strong partnership with CFI is based upon their shared commitment to initiatives such as community building and fostering individual achievement.
"Bill and Joyce Cummings and the Cummings Foundation exemplify the values of active citizenship that Tufts seeks to instill in all our students," Monaco told the Daily in an email.
The partnership also provides CFI with ready access to students, which Swets explained allows it to further intiatives such as genocide education and prevention.
"The Institute for World Justice is working collaboratively with Tufts Hillel in order to pursue its mission of preventing future genocides anywhere in the world through education ... of [the] next generation of leaders, who we think will come from first rate institutions [like Tufts]," he told the Daily.
Monaco's expertise in the areas of genetics and education will make him a strong asset on the board, according to William Cummings.
"President Monaco's presence on the foundation board along with several of our other trustees really brings a great deal of prestige to the board as well as the benefit of his wisdom in many diverse fields," he told the Daily.
"We'll be doing things in the education field and scientific fields as well, and he's eminently qualified to recognize things that have more potential than others," he added.
Monaco will serve a three-year term on the board, though board members' terms are generally renewed for the sake of continuity, according to Swets.
Monaco will attend his first annual board meeting in May, where the trustees will be involved in doling out $5 million in grant money through the foundation's new grant-making arm, OneWorld Boston, according to Cummings.
OneWorld Boston will hand out 50 grants of $100,000 each to mostly Massachusetts-based non-profits in June, Swets added.
IWJ will also continue to bring speakers to Tufts to further its aim of genocide education. The organization will work with Tufts Hillel to bring Catholic priest Father Patrick Desbois to the Hill in March to discuss his work uncovering previously unknown mass graves of Holocaust victims in Ukraine, according to Swets.
Cummings trustees also oversee the operations of Tufts' veterinary school in Grafton. CFI considers veterinarians to play an important role in promoting global health, according to Kochevar.
"CFI believes that veterinarians are well-qualified to address important issues relevant to U.S. and global health," she told the Daily in an email.
"These include wildlife and conservation medicin and infectious disease research especially as it relates to global health and understanding the interfaces between humans, animals and the environment," she added.
Cummings, an entrepreneur who has worked in commercial real estate, and his wife Joyce, last year joined Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and Star Wars creator George Lucas in signing Bill and Melinda Gates' Giving Pledge. Signatories pledge to donate at least half of their wealth to charity.
Cummings told the Daily that this ole as a Tufts trustee made the university a natural focus for the foundation's philanthropy.
