Brandeis Alumni, Family and Friends
Brandeis Remembers Alumnus and Trustee Curtis Tearte
October 10, 2025
Leader and devoted Brandeisian, Tearte dedicated his life to expanding opportunity, mentoring future leaders, and strengthening the university he credited with changing his own.
The Brandeis community remembers Curtis Tearte BA ’73, an accomplished business leader, philanthropist and advocate for underrepresented youth, and a generous supporter of and longtime volunteer for Brandeis. He died on September 30, 2025 in Charlotte, NC. He and his wife had recently relocated there from Atlanta.
Tearte grew up in South Philadelphia, where he worked part-time at a grocery store run by a Jewish immigrant family. While he was looking at colleges, the family encouraged him to apply to Brandeis. He received a full scholarship, and it changed his life forever.
A business transformation technology leader, Tearte worked at IBM for over 30 years, rapidly progressing through executive levels with responsibility for multiple industry sectors across key global revenue-generating areas. He also served on the IBM Worldwide Management Committee, composed of IBM’s top 60 senior executives.
After retiring from IBM, Tearte co-founded and served as chairman of the Tearte Family Foundation (TFF). The foundation partners with educational institutions to identify underrepresented students with academic promise and leadership potential to become Tearte Scholars. Scholars receive leadership training, coaching, mentoring, and immersive global experiences, along with financial awards to complete high school and/or pursue post-secondary education. To date, the foundation has served more than 1,600 students and awarded nearly 300 grants and scholarships.
After serving on the Brandeis Alumni Association’s Board of Directors, Tearte was elected to the Board of Trustees in 2014 and became vice chair in 2019. In 2023, he received the Alumni Achievement Award, the highest honor bestowed on Brandeis graduates, and served as chair of his 50th reunion held during Brandeis’ 75th anniversary weekend. He and his wife have been generous donors to the university, supporting student scholarships, the Galaxy mentoring program, the new Engineering Sciences program, and the African and African American Studies Department. The couple hosted an annual reception at their home for students in Brandeis’ Posse Scholars Program from the Atlanta area. He was known for telling students, “The Brandeis experience will change the arc of your life in ways you will never imagine."
One of Tearte’s final acts of service to Brandeis was to attend the trustee meeting and the installation dinner for President Arthur Levine last month. Tearte greatly admired President Levine’s leadership and his bold plan for Brandeis to reinvent the liberal arts. Tearte’s enthusiasm for the promise the plan holds reflected his lifelong commitment to opportunity, excellence, and innovation.
“Curtis and I had a special relationship, he was a wonderful friend to me, and I deeply admired his wisdom, thoughtfulness, caring, and warmth. We shared a bond over the fact that Brandeis was not the obvious place for either of us to go to college, but it changed our lives in wonderful, unimaginable ways,” says President Levine. Curtis was determined to pay the university back and extend the opportunities of a Brandeis education to more kids like him and me. He did far, far more. His loss is sad, painful, and unexpected. His accomplishments are a memorial, and his memory is a blessing.”
Lisa Kranc ’75, chair of the Board of Trustees, adds, “Curtis meant so much to the Board and to me personally. His wisdom greatly informed the complex decisions Brandeis made during his decade of service, and he always led with kindness and class. Curtis was a shining example of a Brandeis alumnus who loved his alma mater, and Brandeis loved him back. He was a mentsch and a passionate advocate for our students. Curtis is irreplaceable and will be deeply missed, but his wisdom is part of our path, and for that I am grateful.”
Tearte earned a bachelor of arts from Brandeis in African and African American Studies, a juris doctor from the University of Connecticut School of Law, and completed postgraduate studies in political science and international studies at Howard University and the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School.
Tearte is survived by his wife, Jylla, and two daughters, Cherice Barr and Dr. Anjylla Foster.
Donations in his memory may be made to Brandeis University.