LEONARD TOW

TOW--Leonard ("Len"). The Acting President, Trustees, and all of Columbia University mourn the passing of our friend and benefactor, Leonard "Len" Tow, whose innovative philanthropy and vision advanced and deepened our work in the neurosciences, public health, journalism, theater, and much more. At the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Dr. Tow focused on efforts to understand and treat diseases and disorders at the individual and societal levels, benefitting countless patients and their families. In memory of his late wife and partner in business and philanthropy, he established the Claire Tow Center for Motor Neuron Biology and Disease, driving research on ALS and spinal muscular atrophy along with other neurodegenerative disorders. The Tow Center also explores ways to restore motor function in patients who sustain spinal cord injuries. In addition, he created the Claire Tow Professorship in Motor Neuron Disorders. Dr. Tow was also exceptionally generous to Columbia's Eleanor and Lou Gehrig ALS Center. Most recently, through The Tow Foundation, he provided critical support for a state-of-the-art biomedical research building, the Vagelos Innovation Laboratories. The Tow Foundation Research Network will bear his name in recognition of his dedication to this important project. The Mailman School of Public Health also benefitted from Dr. Tow's generosity. There, he established the Phyllis Mailman Professorship of Public Health and the Adrienne Block Professorship in honor of Dean Emerita Linda P. Fried. Dr. Tow also supported the next generation of public health leaders through a Doctoral Scholars Pilot Program for PhD students as well as recognizing current research excellence through the Tow Faculty Leadership Scholars Fund. Dr. Tow's impact extends throughout Columbia, including at the Columbia Journalism School, where he established the Tow Center for Digital Journalism and the Leonard Tow Professorship in Journalism. Through these and other gifts, he helped advance vital research by faculty, students, and independent scholars on the way technology is altering how news is gathered, presented, and consumed. Born in Brooklyn, Dr. Tow received his master's degree in Geography in 1952, and his PhD in Geography in 1960, both from Columbia's Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Committed to education from early on in his career, he taught at several New York City colleges, including Brooklyn College and Columbia Business School. His accomplishments in business as the founder and chairman of two major cable television companies, in addition to other successful ventures, were only rivalled by the impact of his generous and wide-ranging philanthropy. In 1988, he and his wife Claire established The Tow Foundation. Led by his daughter Emily Tow, The Foundation supports medical research, cultural institutions, higher education, and juvenile and criminal justice reform. To express his exceptional dedication to the greater good, he and Claire Tow signed the Giving Pledge in 2012, vowing to donate a majority of their wealth to philanthropic causes. He was a man of great intellect and compassion, and we are honored and humbled to carry forward a part of his tremendous legacy. We offer our deepest condolences to his three children; his grandchildren; his extended family and friends, and all who were fortunate enough to know him. Claire Shipman, Acting President, Columbia University in the City of New York; Board of Trustees, Columbia University in the City of New York