I was charmed by a Globe editorial last Saturday about the new Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College. The “Dr.” of Yertle the Turtle and the Cat in the Hat will now be forever associated with pioneering medical education. At first consideration, you’d think that a guy like Dr. Seuss (the late Theodor Geisel) so deeply devoted to children’s literacy and to the arts would direct his wealth toward causes more congruent to these interests.
But no, Ted Geisel seems to have been more developmentally motivated as he determined the designation for his wealth. As the Globe writer put it, Geisel’s gift to Dartmouth’s medical school was “a gesture of gratitude – to a place and time of deep personal meaning. And it’s a statement of identity.” Dr. Suess made his gift “as a recognition of another enduring affection – his love for his alma mater.”
Dartmouth College nurtured the young artist as an undergraduate back in the early 1920′s and Geisel never forgot the creative roots he established in Hanover, New Hampshire. Those roots grew into many limbs and great trees of imagination which in turn have inspired generations of children to love reading. Globe link.
Just as surely as that campus to our north, the UMass Boston campus on Columbia Point, or its legacy school Boston State College on Huntington Avenue, has nurtured its graduates toward similar life fulfillment as the legendary Dr. Seuss. And just as surely, someone out there, we hope, will feel compelled to invest in his or her alma mater just as profoundly in gratitude for a remarkable education.
To discuss gift opportunities at UMass Boston, contact Gina M. Cappello, vice chancellor at 617.287.5335.
Nan Cormier is director of advancement communications
my sister went to UMass and loved it. appreciate the article.