Tufts celebrates the official dedication of the Tsungming Tu Complex

In late 2024, the Science and Engineering Complex was renamed the Tsungming Tu Complex (TTC), thanks to a generous donation from Professor Loring Tu of the Department of Mathematics. On Wednesday April 2, members of the Tufts community including faculty, staff, alumni, and students, gathered in the TTC atrium to celebrate Professor Tu’s thoughtful generosity and officially dedicate the building.

University leadership, including President Sunil Kumar, Bárbara Brizuela, Professor and Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, Kyongbum Lee, Dean of the School of Engineering and Karol Family Professor, led a speaking program that highlighted the transformative and inspiring nature of Tu’s gift in honor of his grandfather, Dr. Tsungming Tu. 

President Kumar connected Tu’s donation to Tufts’ mission of helping shape the next generation of responsible leaders. He spoke warmly of Tu’s long tenure of teaching and giving back to Tufts.

Honored guests included Charles Liao, the Director-General of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Boston, who provided background on the building’s new namesake, Loring’s grandfather Dr. Tsungming Tu. Dr. Tu was a prominent figure in Taiwanese medicine, known for his exceptional accomplishments in his field, including founding Taiwan’s first private medical school. In his personal life, he was loved for his kindness, acceptance of others, and his simple way of living.

Loring Tu lived in Taiwan with his grandfather until he moved to the United States with his family at 13 years old. During these formative years, his grandfather deeply influenced Tu’s character and instilled values of perseverance, integrity, and frugality in his life. Tu carried these lessons with him throughout his successful career in mathematics and academia, which includes nearly 40 years teaching at Tufts University.  

Just as his grandfather was a powerful role model for him, Tu has made a similar impact on his students at Tufts. One of his former advisees, Kevin Woytowich, AG23, reflected on the lessons he learned from Tu in a moving speech at the dedication ceremony. As a master’s student in mathematics Woytowich, now earning his PhD at Michigan State, benefited from Tu’s gifts of patience, generosity as a mentor, and his ability to see what’s truly important in life. Acknowledging that Tufts University had received a generous gift from Professor Tu, Kevin said he was thankful for these intangible gifts as well.

Loring Tu followed his former student and shared a personal response, expressing appreciation that his donation will be used to support student financial aid at Tufts. “I want to pay back the generosity that others paid to me,” said Tu, sharing his family’s background and the importance of financial aid to his and his brothers’ college and graduate school.

Tu also announced an additional generous donation of $500,000 as a challenge match. Anyone–student, faculty, staff, or friend to Tufts, who donates to financial aid or areas of greatest need will be matched dollar for dollar. “Tufts is an exceptional institution, and I believe we can make it even better,” said Tu, encouraging others to donate.

Following his remarks, Kumar and Tu unveiled a plaque in the TTC atrium to commemorate the building’s new name. Attendees enjoyed bubble tea, gua bao, taro-flavored desserts, and other Taiwanese traditional dishes while they explored the newly dedicated space.

The TTC serves as a central hub for science and technology innovation at Tufts. The building houses departments across the School of Engineering and School of Arts and Sciences including the Departments of Mechanical Engineering and Civil and Environmental Engineering, labs for the Departments of Biomedical Engineering and Biology, and the Nolop FAST Facility Makerspace. Reflecting on the building’s new name, Tu shared, “It is my hope that as students walk through the halls of this complex they will feel inspired by [Tsungming’s] life.”

Donate to Tu’s match campaign.