Anniversary Gala A Big Hit With Guests
TUC Celebrates it's 25th Anniversary
For an event 25 years in the making, the wait was well worth it for guests of Touro University California’s 25th Anniversary Gala, held August 25 outside Farragut Inn.
More than 200 guests turned out for an evening of barbecue, music, and auction prizes, all to help raise funds for TUC’s Diversity Scholarship fund.
Dignitaries included members of Congress, Rep. Mike Thompson and Rep. John Garamendi, as well as leaders of the Touro University System, Rabbi Moshe Krupka, Patty Sulkin, Mike Newman and Dr. Alan Kadish, president Touro University and New York Medical College, who all travelled in from New York for the event.
“It really has been a remarkable journey,” said Shelley Berkley, Senior Vice President of the Touro University System. “25 years can seem like a lifetime for some (but) that time hasn’t passed without a lot of work being done to take Touro from its humble beginnings, to becoming the beacon of hope and inspiration for thousands of students nationwide.”
Provost and CEO Dr. Sarah Sweitzer echoed Berkley’s sentiments on the amount of work that has gone in to making Touro what it is today. “It has been a labor of love, and a lot of hard work to transform this historic site into a growing university with three colleges and seven programs which serve as an anchor institution in Solano and surrounding counties,” Dr. Sweitzer said.
Dr. David Duncan, a member of the first graduating class from Touro University California, spoke at the event and shared his pride of having been part of the process for all these years. “We (students) were taking a risk, the school was taking a risk,” Dr. Duncan said of the pioneers involved in the university’s opening. “We made it work, though. It’s a great honor for me to be part of this family. I’m proud of my university and everything it’s accomplished in the past 25 years.”