Trustee and Engineering graduate Norman Silverman (A'58) passed away on Saturday after a long struggle with leukemia. He was 70.
"Norman was everything we hope a graduate of Tufts would be: smart, accomplished, modest, kind, thoughtful, and always concerned about others," said President Lawrence Bacow in a statement. "He was generous with his time, his advice, and his resources."
Silverman's funeral was held yesterday at noon at Temple Israel in Boston.
According to Linda Dixon, Secretary of the Trustees, Silverman had been suffering from cancer of the blood for several years but had worsened lately.
Silverman was undergoing chemotherapy and only recently had stopped attending trustee meetings, according to Dixon.
"He was able to carry on his responsibilities," Dixon said. "It was only the last couple of months did he take a turn for the worse."
Silverman played an active role in recent developments on campus: he served on the Grounds Committee with Director of Operations John Roberto, meeting with architects to plan new campus construction.
"Silverman had a great deal of influence on Sophia Gordon and the new music building," Dixon said.
Before his election as a trustee in 1996, Silverman ran his family's sheet metal company in Somerville. According to Tufts' trustees Web site, he joined the business after his graduation in 1958.
After a 1961 run in the Berlin Crisis as his Air National Guard service, he returned to the business, which he sold in 1988 to pursue philanthropic goals.
He had just finished a 10-year term as a trustee on Nov. 4, when he retired from the board. (Trustees are elected to a five-year term and may be re-elected once.) He would have been eligible to be a Trustee Emeritus after a year.
According to Dixon, Tufts trustees serve longer than those of other schools where the term is usually three or four years.
"The Tufts trustees are terribly committed," said Dixon. "Norman was definitely one of the most dedicated and hard working trustees."
"He was extremely well liked," she said. "He was self-effacing and modest."
According to the Trustee Web site, Silverman was former president of the Tufts University Alumni Association and was a member of the Fletcher Advisory Board of the Southwest Asia and Islamic Civilization Program. "He believed in the school's international scope," Dixon said.
He was also a member of the School of Engineering's Board of Overseers. The Board meets twice a year and gives faculty advice on programs, Linda Abriola, Dean of the School of Engineering, said.
"He's been very loyal," Abriola said. "He was a really warm human being. He and his wife have both been very helpful to all of us [in engineering]."
Bacow agreed. "He cared deeply about the welfare of students, and worked hard as a Trustee and Overseer to ensure that each generation of students had an even better experience than the generation before."
"I think he would like to be remembered for his passion and his humanity," Abriola said. "And for his support of the Tufts community and experience, which he valued greatly."
"Some trustees are well respected and do a fine job and their work is always appreciated," Dixon said. "But Norman Silverman had the extra dimension of being well loved."
"Tufts has lost a great friend," Bacow said. "He will be missed."
In lieu of flowers, his family has asked that donations be made to the Engineering School.
