The University announced the naming of the Lizzie and Jonathan Tisch Center for Career Exploration on Tuesday, following a $20 million donation from Lizzie Tisch P’25 and Jonathan Tisch P’25.
The center, which first opened in 2023, is committed to supporting students and recent graduates “as they chart their own pathways toward rewarding, meaningful careers,” according to Matthew Donato, the executive director of the newly named center.
With the Tischs’ gift, the center will continue towards its goals, which include developing “innovative career advising programs,” directing students to internship and research opportunities, establishing alumni-employer relationships and creating cross-campus collaborations, Donato explained.
Since its launch, engagement with the center and its programs has greatly increased, and the number of career-oriented events organized has almost doubled, according to the University press release.
“The center’s recent growth has been completely funded by gifts from donors like Lizzie and Jonathan,” he wrote in an email to The Herald. “The Tisch’s transformative gift will help ensure that this growth is sustainable and that the center will be resourced to provide the highest level of impactful career exploration support to Brown students for years to come.”
Jonathan Tisch, the executive chairman and former CEO of Loews Hotels, and Lizzie Tisch, a retail entrepreneur, are parents to Mason Rudnick ’25.
“When our daughter decided that this was the school she wanted to attend and was accepted, I thought it was a wonderful moment for our family to extend this relationship to Brown,” Jonathan Tisch said in the University press release.
The gift will also fund collaborations with the Swearer Center for Public Service and the SPRINT-iProv Summer Fellowship program, where undergraduate students receive a stipend for internships at Rhode Island nonprofits, the press release states.
In addition, the donation will provide “career exploration resources and tools,” paid internship and research opportunities and funding for programs like the center’s Careers in the Common Good Professional Pathway, Donato added.
One of five industry-specific professional pathways focused on at the center, the CCG program is designed to support students interested in “common good and civic-oriented” careers, Donato explained. The gift will support the assistant dean position for the CCG program.
The other pathways include arts and media, finance and consulting, science and engineering and technology and tech ventures.
Selam Asfaw ’26, a peer career advisor at the center, learned about the gift Tuesday morning and described her reaction as both “surprised and pretty excited.”
With the help of this donation, she thinks PCAs will be able to feel “more confident” when directing students to opportunities at the center.
“Right now, PCAs are told to warn students that getting a second SPRINT award (to fund fellowships) might be difficult if they’ve already received one due to financial constraints,” Asfar wrote. “I hope that with this donation, we can turn this warning around and consistently support students pursuing internships in fields that typically don’t offer paid positions.”
Samah Hamid is a senior staff writer at the Herald. She is from Sharon, Massachusetts and plans to concentrate in Biology. In her free time, you can find her taking a nap, reading, or baking a sweet treat.
