Philosophy Department receives over $211,000 in gifts
We are happy to announce that the estate of John A. Gerda, MD (GRS, ’51) recently donated $171,000 to be added to the Bertocci Scholarship Fund. Dr. Gerda earned his master’s degree in philosophy at BU, and eventually served as a staff surgeon at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital at the National Center Institute in Washington (for more information about him, please see http://www.bu.edu/cas/faculty-staff/newsletter/11_10/gifts.html). This gift is wonderful news, particularly since the interest from Bertocci Fund plays such a major role in providing continuing student fees and tuition aid to our graduate students. Dr. Hideo and Mrs. Itabashi also made a generous gift of 10,000 to the Bertocci Fund. The Fund honors the memory of Peter Anthony Bertocci, a Borden Parker Bowne Professor of Philosophy, who died in 1989. He was a beloved and influential teacher and thinker, and member of the faculty for some thirty-one years. In his letter recollecting thie history of the department (available at https://www.bu.edu/philo/alumni/index.html), Professor Emeritus Erazim Kohak describes Professor Bertocci in greater detail. We are very pleased that the Department continues to receive considerable support annually from Steven Karbank ( https://www.bu.edu/philo/alumni/karbank.html), not only to host the Karbank Symposium on Environmental Philosophy, but also to make possible many undergraduate, graduate, and faculty meetings, colloquia, and events. Steve’s recent gift of $25,000, and gifts of $5000 from several donors who prefer to remain anonymous, mean that we can continue to carry out our mission at a high level.
We are profoundly grateful for this generous support by our alumni and friends.