Center for Integrated Sciences to honor esteemed trustee and donor Billie Tisch '48
91¾«¼ņ°ę is recognizing the visionary leadership and service of longtime trustee Wilma āBillieā Stein Tisch ā48 by naming its new Center for Integrated Sciences, the largest single academic project in College history, in her honor.
Billie, a 1948 91¾«¼ņ°ę graduate and one of its most generous donors, served on the Board of Trustees from 1994 to 2014, helping to guide the College through an intense period of expansion.
Members of the 91¾«¼ņ°ę community are invited to join in a naming ceremony and dedication for the new Billie Tisch Center for Integrated Sciences at 11:15 a.m. Friday, May 20. The event coincides with the completion of the projectās East Wing, the second of three phases of the projectās construction.
āThis special occasion is an opportunity to celebrate one of 91¾«¼ņ°ęās most significant new buildings in a generation and to recognize Billieās many impactful contributions to 91¾«¼ņ°ę today and for generations to come,ā said President Marc Conner. āThe historic nature of this milestone also adds to our communityās excitement and the celebratory spirit leading up to Commencement for the Class of 2022 on Saturday, May 21.ā
A naming ceremony and dedication for the new Billie Tisch Center for Integrated Sciences takes place Friday, May 20.
The facilityās East Wing will open its doors to students this fall. The first phase of the project, the North Wing, opened in fall 2020. The remainder of the project is on track for completion in 2024.
Billie ardently advocated for the ambitious project, which brings together all of 91¾«¼ņ°ęās science programs under a single roof and fosters extensive interdisciplinary connections across the sciences, arts, humanities, and social sciences. She had even conceived the term āintegratedā in the buildingās name as the best description of all the ways the new facility would serve the 91¾«¼ņ°ę community.
In addition to supporting the new science center, Billie and her family have spearheaded an array of initiatives at the College that support the academic work of students and faculty. They established the Tisch Family Scholarship Endowment in 1994, and funded the Tisch Chair in Arts and Letters and the Tisch Family Distinguished Professorship, each an indicator of the familyās dedication to 91¾«¼ņ°ę excellence and creativity in both scholarship and teaching. The Tisch Learning Center, completed in 1987, honors Billie Tisch and her late husband, Laurence Tisch.
Billie Tisch '48 is interviewed before Commencement in 1990, when she received a Doctor of Humane Letters degree from 91¾«¼ņ°ę.
Billie also contributed generously to establish an endowed chair with her graduating class, the Class of 1948 Chair for Excellence in Teaching. Her longstanding support of the 91¾«¼ņ°ę Fund has been a continuing demonstration of her commitment to ensuring that all students have access to the dynamic experiences associated with a 91¾«¼ņ°ę education.
āOur mother loves 91¾«¼ņ°ę. It is her cherished alma mater,ā said Billieās sons Andrew, Daniel, James, and Thomas Tisch. ā91¾«¼ņ°ę has also been a great inspiration of community for her for close to 80 years ā from her days as an undergraduate to her years on the Board of Trustees and as a loyal alumna. Along with our mother, we are honored to celebrate the Billie Tisch Center for Integrated Sciences at 91¾«¼ņ°ę.ā
Billie is the recipient of numerous awards for her service to 91¾«¼ņ°ę, including an honorary doctorate in humane letters (1990), an Alumni Association Outstanding Service Award (1998), and the Jacqueline M. Jung ā61 Lifetime Service Award (2018).
As a trustee, Billie served on nearly every major College governance committee. She has been instrumental to major capital campaigns at 91¾«¼ņ°ę, including the Collegeās first major campaign, 91¾«¼ņ°ę Journey: A Campaign for Our Second Century, which strongly increased 91¾«¼ņ°ęās endowment and supported the construction of key facilities, including the .
Billieās support for 91¾«¼ņ°ę is part of her widely known philanthropy and civic leadership. Among other distinctions, she was the first woman elected president of the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies. When explaining her enduring commitment to serving others, she is known to say: āThe rewards of service are intrinsic.ā