2024 Commencement Speakers Are Philanthropists Joyce and Bill Cummings
April 3, 2024
Joyce and Bill Cummings, the co-founders of the Cummings Foundation, will be the 2024 Franklin Cummings Tech Commencement speakers on Saturday, May 18, at 10AM. Bill also founded the suburban Boston commercial real estate firm Cummings Properties.
“Joyce and Bill Cummings understand the transformative power of education to create economic opportunity and access to prosperity for everybody. Their belief in our mission and their faith in the potential of our students is reflected in the generous $12.5 million commitment they made to the college that elevates our ability to prepare students for in-demand jobs and fulfilling careers in today’s economy,” said Dr. Aisha Francis, president & CEO of Franklin Cummings Tech. “The Class of 2024 will be inspired by Joyce and Bill’s generosity and entrepreneurial spirit born of humble beginnings.”
Bill Cummings founded Cummings Properties in 1970, serving as president and, later, chairman. In 1986, Bill and Joyce established Cummings Foundation, which has grown to be one of the three largest private foundations in New England. They were the first Massachusetts couple to join the Giving Pledge, an international philanthropic organization founded by Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett, and they have been honored to receive dozens of community accolades and honorary degrees.
In December 2021, Cummings Foundation made a $12.5 million commitment to Franklin Cummings Tech to advance its leading-edge work in creating technical career pathways for students typically underrepresented in post-secondary education. The gift supports the college in developing new programs that meet the evolving workforce needs of the region’s leading industries. This support also further aids students in defraying the costs of post-secondary education. In recognition of the transformational nature of the commitment—nearly equivalent to the school’s annual operating budget—the college was renamed Franklin Cummings Tech.
Bill Cummings grew up in Medford and, in 1958, graduated from Tufts University. He got his start in commercial real estate with one small building, and then led Cummings Properties’ expansion into an 11 million-square-foot portfolio, now managed by more than 350 team members.
Joyce Cummings grew up in Alabama and graduated from The University of Alabama in 1962. Following a one-year dietetic internship at Massachusetts General Hospital, she became a dietician at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, where she met Bill in 1964.
In addition to Bill and Joyce Cummings, Boston City Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson will speak to the Class of 2024 to provide remarks of inspiration and share her best wishes with graduates and families. Her district is home to many Franklin Cummings Tech students and includes Nubian Square, where the college’s future campus will be located. Councilor Anderson is a graduate of the John D. O’Bryant High School of Mathematics and Science in Roxbury and Springfield College.
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