Equity Actor
Laurie Tisch notes that many of her fellow TC Trustees had no prior ties to the College. "They're not alums, their children didn't attend TC - they simply care passionately about what TC does," she says.
Laurie Tisch notes that many of her fellow TC Trustees had no prior ties to the College. "They're not alums, their children didn't attend TC--they simply care passionately about what TC does," she says.
Perhaps none more so than Tisch herself. Reared in a family famous for embracing good causes, Tisch earned an education degree from the University of Michigan, taught Spanish and helped start (and remains honorary chair of) the Children's Museum of Manhattan. She serves on the boards of Lincoln Center and the Whitney Museum and is on Mayor Bloomberg's Cultural Affairs Advisory Commission. As Chair of the non-profit Center for Arts Education, she has overseen nearly $31 million in grants to New York City's public schools. And as a TC Trustee, Tisch has quietly reached out to individual students, in some instances helping them financially.
"Laurie embodies everything public service should be about, and TC is incredibly lucky to have her," says TC President Arthur Levine. "Beyond her generous financial support, she has given unstintingly of her time, her energy and her ideas. She truly, truly cares."
In June, Tisch became Chair of TC's newly launched Campaign for Educational Equity, which seeks to close the gap in opportunities and outcomes between Americas most advantaged and disadvantaged students. She is working to recruit its Board and raise $12 million during the Campaign's first year.
"Educational equity won't happen overnight," says Tisch, who also chaired the strategic planning for the Campaign. "But I'm confident we'll make an enormous contribution. We've got a great mission and vision. We have Michael Rebell [The Campaign's Executive Director], whose brilliance and passion will elevate all we do. We have the resources of TC, including the support of Arthur Levine and the TC Board."
And, she might have added, we've got Laurie Tisch.
Published Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2005
