Boston Globe September 9, 2004

$50m gift for Tufts veterinary school
By Marcella Bombardieri, Globe Staff

Tufts University announced a $50 million gift to its veterinary school yesterday, the largest donation in the university's history.

The gift comes from the foundation headed by local real estate mogul Bill Cummings, and Tufts officials said they believe it is the biggest ever made to a veterinary school in the United States. The school will be renamed the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University.

Cummings, who has recently donated dozens of his properties north of Boston to the Cummings Foundation, graduated from Tufts in 1958, and is a trustee emeritus. He has no particular focus on animal causes or connection to the veterinary school, he said yesterday, but "wanted to concentrate a gift in one location where it could really do some good."

Tufts' veterinary school, based in North Grafton, is one of only two private veterinary schools in the country, officials say. It is also the most expensive, with last year's out-of-state tuition almost $32,000. Budget cuts over the last couple of years significantly reduced the annual subsidies the school receives from its partnership with the state.

"It's one of the most highly regarded vet schools in the country," Cummings said. "But the vast majority are state-operated, so that becomes a significant barrier for a private university to operate in that environment."

School leaders hope the donation sets a new tone for philanthropy at Tufts, whose $669 million endowment puts it well behind a number of the state's top colleges and universities.