Loring Tu has taught mathematics at Tufts University for 38 years, while quietly building a fortune worth millions from some well-placed stock investments. Now, the math professor is looking at retiring from Tufts a year from now, and he’s planning on giving much of his money to the Medford university.
Tufts on Wednesday announced that Tu has donated an “eight-figure gift” — more than $10 million, but the school won’t say how much more — to the $2 billion-plus Tufts endowment, in honor of his grandfather, Tsungming Tu, who died in 1986. In return, Tufts is naming its Science and Engineering Complex after the elder Tu, considered the father of Taiwanese modern medicine.
“Tufts needs a bigger endowment in order to offer more financial aid for its students,” said Tu, who plans to retire at the end of 2025. “I’ve had a happy time here for 38 years. … I’d like to give something back.”
Tu said placing his grandfather’s name on the science complex — completed in 2017 by uniting two renovated older buildings with one new building — is a fitting honor for the elder Tu, who founded the first medical school in Taiwan and the first clinic to treat opium addiction, among other legacies. Tu became close to his grandfather while growing up in the same house, before leaving for the United States when he was 13.
Tu’s donation comes from his own investment portfolio. He said he made bets on some high profile companies that have done well, most notably Apple; the tech company’s stock was trading for around 15 cents a share in 1997 when Tu said he first invested. A thousand-dollar investment at the time, he said, would be worth well over $1 million today. He doesn’t use a financial advisor but he tries to heed the oft-quoted advice to invest in companies with familiar products. He suggests his analytical skills from his math training may have helped.
“I didn’t expect to be wealthy,” Tu said. “I would attribute it mostly to dumb luck and frugality.”
Tufts president Sunil Kumar hailed the gift in a statement, saying it will ensure “Tufts continues to advance learning, teaching and research for generations to come.”
Tu has donated to Tufts before, but decided to make a larger donation after being approached by an official in the school’s development office. He hopes more people in the US will learn about his grandfather’s life and work as a result. Tu went to school at Princeton University and Harvard University, but he chose to donate to Tufts in part because his money will have a bigger impact there than at those Ivy League schools.
When he retires, he hopes to travel, spend more time visiting friends, work on new editions of his mathematics books, and maybe learn to play the piano and get more involved with robotics and artificial intelligence.
“I live a simple life, my needs are minimal,” Tu added. “I want to give away what I don’t need.”
Jon Chesto can be reached at jon.chesto@globe.com. Follow him @jonchesto.
