Tulane University has received a generous gift from Stuart and Suzanne Grant of Wilmington, Delaware, to establish the Stuart and Suzanne Grant Center for the American Jewish Experience. It is among the largest gifts to the Tulane School of Liberal Arts and the largest ever to the Department of Jewish Studies. 

The gift from the Grants’ I Could Do Great Things Foundation will double the number of research faculty in the Jewish Studies department. The gift will also provide operating support for the center that will bear their name. 

“With this visionary gift, Tulane is poised to become a national leader in the study of the American Jewish experience, with a particular, unique and interdisciplinary focus on the history of Jews in the Gulf South and the region more generally,” Tulane President Mike Fitts said. “We are so grateful to the Grants for their support, which will position Tulane as a hub of excellence and the global leader in the study of the American Jewish experience.” 

“Thanks to the tremendous generosity of Stuart and Suzanne Grant, we will build a world-class faculty and implement a dynamic and innovative slate of programming,” said Michael Cohen, Sizeler Professor of Jewish Studies and chair of the Department of Jewish Studies. 

The Grants formed the I Could Do Great Things Foundation in 2009 to support a range of social initiatives related to education, Jewish causes and projects that strengthen communities. They also provided an initial gift to an initiative at Tulane University that fosters academic collaboration between U.S. and Israeli universities.

Stuart Grant is the co-founder of Grant & Eisenhofer P.A., and the co-founder and managing director of Bench Walk Advisors. 

Suzanne Barton Grant serves as the chair of the board of the Delaware State Pension Fund. She is former president of the Jewish Federation of Delaware and the immediate past national campaign chair for Jewish Federations of North America. 

The Grants’ son Sam graduated from Tulane in May 2019 with a Bachelor of Science in psychology. He is now a lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps.