When you read the Chronicle of Philanthropy’s “Philanthropy 50,” a special issue, which ranks the country’s 50 most-generous philanthropists of the year, you will find Bill and Melinda Gates, Michael Bloomberg, New York financier John Paulson and his wife, Jenny, and eBay founder Pierre Omidyar and his wife, Pam. You will also see at No. 49 John Luth ’74 and his wife Joanne Chouinard-Luth, D.M.D., for their record-setting gift of $32.5 million to the College of the Holy Cross in 2015.
According to the profile, Luth believed the College’s athletics center needed renovating and after an anonymous donor committed $10 million to the center, he and his wife pledged $25 million. (The couple also donated $7.5 million to turn the Fieldhouse into a recreation center.)
In the article, Luth said they made the decision in about 30 minutes: “Jo and I thought, If not us, who? If not now, when?”
Luth founded the Seabury Group, an aviation-industry consulting firm. Dr. Chouinard-Luth retired as a dentist in 2010 to pursue a master’s degree in nutrition and started a foundation that promotes healthy living practices.
Last June, the Luths made the largest gift in College history to enhance College’s indoor athletics and recreational facilities.
- Read the entire article on the Chronicle of Philanthropy’s “Philanthropy 50” (subscription needed)
Related Information
This "Holy Cross in the News" item by Cristal Steuer.
