The Thomas H. Kunz Fund

One of the world’s leading authorities on the biology of bats, Professor Thomas H. Kunz, has for the past 40+ years been an inspiring teacher to thousands of undergraduates, an enthusiastic proponent for bats and science in the public arena, and an exceptional mentor to dozens of graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, and junior faculty. Recently named a William Fairfield Warren Distinguished Professor, the highest academic honor conferred by Boston University, Tom has also been one of our most productive and highly regarded scientists.

In recognition and appreciation of Tom’s mentorship, his current and former graduate students recently established the Thomas H. Kunz Fund in Biology, which will become a permanent endowment that honors Tom’s career and supports graduate education in ecology at Boston University. Rising to a challenge from Tom’s students, the Biology faculty joined this effort and helped push the fund past $50,000. We are now reaching out to Tom’s friends and colleagues around the world and to you, our BU Biology alumni. With the fund currently at the $70,000 mark, we would like to ask you to join us in supporting the Thomas H. Kunz Fund in Biology and help push it past $100,ooo. The positive response we have received from Tom’s students and fellow BU faculty has been exceptional – almost 100% participation! We hope we can add you to the list of contributors.

As you may know, Tom has been on medical leave and officially retiring at the end of May. He is still working hard to recover from the serious brain injuries he suffered in a tragic accident at the end of October 2011. While the future remains uncertain, Tom has made amazing progress over the past year and a half; he rose to the occasion and delivered a touching and memorable speech at a luncheon for retiring faculty in early May.

Make an Online Contribution

Please click here to make an online contribution! To ensure that your donation goes to the Kunz Fund in Biology, select “Other Fund” in the pull-down menu under “Your Gift Designation” and then write in box below “Thomas H. Kunz Fund in Biology.” Please see the BU Alumni page for information on other ways to give.

Please feel free to contact us with questions or simply to let us know that you’ve made a contribution – it would be great to hear from you.

Gratefully yours,

Tom’s Graduate Students and Postdocs
c/o Prof. Peter V. August (Tom’s first PhD student)
pete@edc.uri.edu, (401) 874-4794

Tom’s Colleagues in BU Biology
c/o Prof. Michael D. Sorenson (Chair, Biology Department, Boston University)
msoren@bu.edu, (617) 353-6983