Nearly 20 years ago, speaking at the Vanderslice Hall dedication cer­emony, Geoffrey Boisi '69, P'11—then Board of Trustees chair—called the building's benefactor, Dr. Thomas A. Vanderslice '53, H'03, P'79, '80, '83, '86, "a true son of Boston College" for his generosity to his alma mater.

A one-time board chair himself, Vanderslice served as a trustee from 1978 to 1996, and his tenure coin­cided with momentous growth in BC's national reputation. His 18 years on the board and ongoing relationship with the University have been marked by a series of philanthropic initiatives demonstrating not only remarkable generosity, but also an uncanny intu­ition for crucially timed investments.

As a businessman with a PhD in chemistry and physics, Vanderslice funded a faculty chair in econom­ics and has invested heavily in the sciences in recent decades, funding two prestigious faculty positions in chemistry. Working to ensure that the University's academic buildings matched the great scholarship occurring within them, he served as chairman of the fundraising campaign for the Merkert Chemis­try Center. Today, BC ranks 31st in U.S.News & World Report's "2012 Best Colleges," and its reputation and popularity are owed in large part to Vanderslice's thoughtfully directed philanthropy.

His most recent investment will help the University remain responsive to the times. He first named BC as a beneficiary of a life insurance policy in the 1990s. And to honor his upcom­ing 60th reunion, he has decided on another form of legacy giving, a $1-million charitable gift annuity, the remainder of which will help BC address its most urgent needs in the future.

"BC has always been a source of rigorous scholarship and teaching and, in every decade since its incep­tion, it has responded to challenges and opportunities with grace and readiness," says Vanderslice. "Legacy giving is my way of ensuring that BC can embrace its greatest moments for generations to come."