Tufts University removes Sackler name

BOSTON – Tufts University on Thursday announced the immediate removal of the Sackler name from all buildings and programs at its medical school, with leaders citing the family’s role in the nation’s opioid crisis.

The decision is among the most dramatic rebukes leveled by a growing list of institutions that have cut ties with the Sackler family. The family owns Purdue Pharma, the maker of the addictive opioid painkiller OxyContin, and has donated millions to colleges, universities and museums.

Tufts’ financial ties date back to 1980 when the university’s graduate school of biomedical studies was founded with a Sackler gift. The family has given Tufts $15.1 million in philanthropic gifts since that time.

Tufts President Anthony Monaco pointed to the “human toll of the opioid epidemic, in which members of the Sackler family and their company Purdue Pharma are associated.” In a statement he said, “it is clear that continuing to display the Sackler name is inconsistent” with the university’s values.

The decision to strip the family’s name “also acknowledges the countless individuals and families who have suffered so much loss, harm, and sorrow as a result of the opioid crisis,” and, he said “acknowledges members of our own community who have struggled on a daily basis with the university’s very public association with the Sackler name.”

Despite the move, Tufts does not plan to return the unspent portion of the family’s donation. School officials say the money will be used on causes such as cancer and epilepsy research.

Daniel Connolly, the Sackler family’s attorney, in a statement said the family is “seeking to have this improper decision reversed” and is currently reviewing all available options.