Boston University trustee emeritus Gerald Tsai Jr., who donated the Tsai Performance Center to the College of Arts and Sciences, died July 9 of multiple organ failure. He was 79.
Tsai, a fund manager and financier who attended BU in the late 1940s, arrived in Boston after growing up in Shanghai, China. After receiving his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in economics at BU, Tsai began working as a security analyst for Bache ‘ Company, followed by Fidelity Management and Research Company, Inc., the first of numerous management positions he held during his lengthy investment career.
“He had a very successful career and was very supportive of the university,” BU spokesman Colin Riley said. “He had a wonderful academic experience here, like many other trustees do, and once you have a good experience like that, you want to make that place great for other people.”
Tsai served on BU’s Board of Trustees twice, and was also an associate founder of BU and took a very active role in campus funding.
“Certainly, his most notable contribution is one every BU student recognizes, and that’s the Tsai Performance Center,” Riley said. “It’s one of the finest performance venues we have ever had. So many people have passed through that building, students and celebrities alike. It’s such a valuable part of the campus.”
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