Rob Hale ’88 makes headlines with string of academic and cancer research gifts

Rob Hale ’88 and his wife Karen P’20 have continued their season of philanthropy with a surprise gift to the graduating class at Quincy College in Massachusetts. 

While delivering Quincy’s commencement address, Hale, who is the founder and CEO of Granite Telecommunications, announced that he was donating $1,000 dollars to each member of the class of 2021. He asked them to give half of the gift to a cause or charity of their choice to spread the spirit of giving. 

Earlier this spring, the Hales announced the largest gift in Connecticut College history, donating $30 million on top of a previous gift of $20 million, and also pledged $50 million to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. 

“This College changed my life, and Karen and I believe deeply in its mission, in its innovations as a liberal arts educator and the leadership skills it builds in students,” Rob Hale said of the gift to Conn. “More than ever, our society needs the kinds of graduates that this College helps develop, and we are honored to help do our part to stand with them. We hope others will join us.”

The Hales’ recent acts of generosity are chronicled in the Boston Globe, and Rob Hale discussed the Quincy College gift in this local TV news interview.