A $5 million gift from Tulane alumnus Richard M. Lerner (A&S ’81, B ’83) will create the university’s eighth Presidential Chair, devoted to increasing the world’s scientific understanding of aging and longevity.

Tulane will establish the Lawrence E. Lerner Presidential Chair Endowed Fund to support a professor in an interdisciplinary area of academic study. Lerner has requested that the initial chair-holder be a scholar whose research focuses on gerontology or related disciplines. The Presidential Chair is named for Lerner’s father, a real-estate developer and bank director who died in 2019.

For Lerner, the major challenge facing gerontology today is not just adding years to life but ensuring that those years are marked by higher levels of good health, vitality and vigor. “I hope that new and innovative research in the field of aging makes it possible for our loved ones to derive some pleasure from those incremental years,” Lerner said. “I’m hopeful that the establishment of a Presidential Chair in aging will contribute to the advancement of research that leads to healthier, happier and more productive lifespans.”

“This gift is a testament to Rick Lerner’s devotion to Tulane, his love for his father and his concern for humanity,” said Michael Fitts, president of Tulane. “Rick thought very carefully about how best to honor his father and support Tulane while also addressing an issue of vital importance to the world. As our population experiences increased lifespans, understanding the science and improving the potential for healthy aging becomes more and more central to our society and to our future.”

Now retired, Richard Lerner was chairman and chief executive officer of Annapolis Bancorp. A resident of Annapolis, Maryland, he is active in civic and nonprofit causes.