Making Education Work: Trustees Lead the Way with Significant Campaign Gifts

(October 30, 2009) -- Simmons trustees share a powerful commitment to the College and its students. These days, trustees are not only volunteering their time and expertise, they're actively supporting the new $85 million Making Education Work campaign with an impressive outpouring of generous, meaningful gifts. The four profiled here are setting the pace.

Lauren Brisky '73

Board Chair Lauren Brisky '73 says Making Education Work is an exciting way to help current and future students enjoy the kind of rewards that a Simmons education has afforded her and other alumnae/i.

"I feel the impact of my Simmons education every day, and making a leadership gift to the campaign is one way to say 'thank you.' I also know that without gifts from alumnae/i and friends, Simmons would not be the College it is today," says Brisky.

Brisky has designated her $1 million gift for the President's Discretionary Fund, resources the president can channel where they are most needed at a given time. Brisky knows the value of such flexibility. She spent her career in senior administrative roles at four institutions of higher learning and recently retired as vice chancellor for administration and chief financial officer at Vanderbilt University. Brisky joined the Simmons board in 2000 and was elected chair last year.

Jill Greenthal '78

Jill Greenthal '78 has been putting her Simmons education to work ever since she graduated. She went on to earn an MBA from Harvard and today is a senior advisor at The Blackstone Group, an alternative asset management and financial services firm.

Greenthal has been contributing her time and expertise to Simmons as a trustee since 2008. Her generous philanthropic support includes a six-figure gift to Making Education Work.

"The campaign is very important to Simmons. I'm supporting it because the College made a huge difference in my life, and I want to give something back. I am extremely grateful for all that I learned as an undergraduate student," says Greenthal.

She designated much of her gift for the President's Discretionary Fund. The balance is for The Simmons Fund and the Jill A. Greenthal '78 Financial Literacy Fund. The latter will create a requirement that all students attend a program on financial literacy prior to graduating.

Ros Solomon Jaffe '50

Honorary Trustee Ros Solomon Jaffe '50 and her husband Elliot are entrepreneurs who share a commitment to higher education. Her Simmons degree in retail management helped them launch the Dress Barn, now a nationwide chain of more than 1,600 stores.

The Jaffe's support for Simmons includes a $250,000 campaign gift which Elliot and the couple's children made to honor Ros as she prepares to celebrate her 60th Reunion. They chose to name one of the primary learning spaces (a "case room") in the new School of Management and Academic Building.

"Education has always been a key focus of our philanthropy. I am thrilled that my family's gift will help current and future Simmons students pursue their goals," says Ros.

During an earlier campaign, she established the Roslyn Solomon Jaffe Chair in Marketing Strategy at the SOM. She became an honorary trustee in 2005 after serving on the board from 1994 to 1999.

Janet Trafton Tobin '67

With her $1 million pledge, Janet Trafton Tobin '67 hopes to give students access to opportunities similar to the ones she experienced in her own life. Born and raised in Central America to American parents, Tobin has also lived in Japan, Spain, and across the United States.

"Experiencing life in different countries has made me who I am today," says Tobin. "It is a transformative experience and I wanted to ensure students had the ability to enjoy study abroad opportunities for years to come." A portion of her gift is directed to a study abroad scholarship she established in 2006.

Tobin, who is entering her tenth year as a member of the board, says she has supported Simmons both through her time and philanthropy because of the impact the College made on her own life. "Simmons has given me a wonderful base from which to expand," says Tobin.