Dr. Bruce Pastor, M68, J95P and his wife Joyce Field Pastor, J67, J95P contribute to the Jaharis Family Challenge at TUSM.
On a recent visit to the School of Medicine's urban campus, gastroenterologist Bruce Pastor, M68, J95P, hardly recognized his alma mater. "My classmates and I flourished not because of the space around us, but in spite of it," he said. The renovated Sackler Center at the Medical School represents "a quantum leap in improvement since I was a student."
Dr. Pastor and his wife, Joyce Field Pastor, J67, J95P, pledged $100,000 to name the eighth-floor conference room in the refurbished campus center. Thanks to a challenge by the Jaharis Family Foundation, the impact of their gift has been doubled.
Through their family foundation, Overseers Steven Jaharis, M87, and Michael Jaharis contributed $15 million toward the renovation of the Sackler Center, the creation of a new Clinical Skills and Simulation Center, and financial aid.
The campus project is seen to be transforming medical education and the quality of life among medical students at Tufts. The clinical skills center and three floors of the Sackler building already are open and in use by students.
Under the Jaharis challenge, Tufts agreed to raise an additional $7.5 million to release a portion of the Jaharis gift for scholarships once the construction projects are complete. The Pastors are among the first to step forward in response to the Jaharis challenge.
"Now is the right time to give, especially in this challenging economic environment," said Dr. Pastor, founder of a seven-physician practice in Boston that is affiliated with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. "It’s an opportunity to help provide scholarship funds while showing support for the new campus center."
A former president and reunion chair of the Medical School's Alumni Association, Pastor made up his mind during his 40th reunion to make this gift.
"My reunion gave me a chance then to reflect on how much I owe to Tufts," he says. "The institution launched my career and gave me extraordinary opportunities, life-changing relationships—I met my wife there—and professors who became invaluable mentors.
"I’ve always known that I would one day want to give a significant gift to the school. I was waiting for the right occasion."
