The Man Behind Meditz College

Fairfield University’s College of Arts and Sciences will be renamed the John Charles Meditz College of Arts and Sciences, effective July 1. Meet the man behind the new name.

On March 17, 2025, the 83rd anniversary of Fairfield’s founding, President Mark R. Nemec, PhD, announced a $50 million gift from John Charles Meditz ’70 — the largest ever single donation by an individual in the history of the University. In recognition of the alumnus and longtime University Trustee’s extraordinary generosity, Dr. Nemec also shared news that the College of Arts and Sciences would be renamed the John Charles Meditz College of Arts and Sciences.

“It’s fitting that the hub of Fairfield’s liberal arts core curriculum should be named after John,” said Richard Greenwald, dean of Meditz College. “He speaks passionately about his appreciation for his broad-based Jesuit education — with the arts and sciences at its core — and about how this exposure makes one a better person, citizen, and role model for others.”

During a visit to campus this past spring, Meditz described education as “the willingness to broaden one’s horizons away from the provincial experiences of youth and analyze them critically.”

“Education,” he said, “should be multidimensional. Exposure to the liberal arts is certainly that.”

Raised in Weehawken, New Jersey, Meditz’s parents instilled in him a lifelong appreciation for the arts. They took him “to the great museums of Italy” when he was just 11 years old and stopped to explore the Cloisters in Washington Heights “probably twice a year” throughout his childhood on the way to visit his aunt and uncle in the Bronx. To this day, he considers that branch of The Met — devoted exclusively to the art, architecture, and artifacts of medieval Europe — one of his favorite places.

His educational journey with the Jesuits began at Xavier High School in New York City. There, Meditz said he didn’t appreciate the required four years of learning Latin but he “sure did like the literature.” He estimated that he’s gone back to read Virgil’s Aeneid at least four times. George Orwell’s Animal Farm is another repeat favorite. “In this day and age, from an observation of the politics of the world,” he noted, “it doesn’t hurt to read Animal Farm over and over.”

When it came time to look at colleges, Meditz recalls visiting only one other campus before heading up the Connecticut Turnpike to Fairfield, if only because one of his best high school friends had two brothers attending. He joked that his first impressions were simply, “Gee, it’s a perfect location. It’s Jesuit. It’s what my mother wants!”

Those initial selling points withstood further consideration. “Fairfield fit the bill in terms of what I too was looking for,” he said. “It was a smaller school in the Jesuit tradition, more rural than urban, relatively close to home but not around the corner — and attending would be with 15 others from Xavier.”

Meditz and his 15 Xavier classmates arrived to campus in the fall of 1966, which he said, “was not unusual, because in my day, if you went to a Jesuit high school, you would invariably be expected to go to a Jesuit university.”

He described his Class of ’70 as a “cusp group of students — that is, a transitional generation.” In their first semester, jackets and ties were required in the classroom and in the dining hall. By spring, the rules had loosened. “The good old days of ‘very strict everything’ were coming to an end and the introduction of more liberal times was, more or less, beginning,” he said. “It was not just unique to Fairfield; that was the way it was everywhere.”

Meditz began as a finance major but switched to economics “for the simple fact that I was far more interested in a social science course of curriculum.” The Economics Department was housed solely in the College of Arts and Sciences back then, and he said, “I really preferred the liberal arts to… let’s say, ‘more focused’ instruction.”

He was quick to point out, however, that even business majors at Fairfield receive a liberal arts foundation. “That’s the benefit of a Jesuit education,” Meditz observed. “There’s a core curriculum that’s intended to expose you to philosophy, theology, history, mathematics, and even the physical sciences.”

More than half a century after earning his diploma, Meditz still lights up when asked about the Fairfield professors who grabbed his attention and saturated his mind with new topics and ideas. He described Dr. Julia Johnston, a philosophy professor who taught Plato, as “probably as inspirational as you could come up with;” Carmen Donnarumma’s Western civilization instruction as “mesmerizing;” and “U.S. Diplomatic History” with Rev. Richard Costello, S.J., as “an absolutely spectacular way to approach one’s nation’s background.”

“I’ve said this repeatedly: the quality of education at Fairfield was second to none,” he said. “I think it’s true today, and it certainly was true then.”

One of 399 bachelor’s degree recipients in the Class of 1970, Meditz graduated with an idea of going into foreign service. Looking into the requirements, he discovered that the State Department “wanted either law, engineering, or business as an advanced degree, not a master’s in foreign service.”

“So I got my MBA,” he said. “And then, like so many things in life, a path you set out on takes twists and turns divergent from what you may have initially planned on doing, and it certainly did.”

After a brief stint teaching macroeconomics and money and banking at a New Jersey college, Meditz “stumbled into” investment management, his profession for the past 50 years. “Which is amazing,” he said, “because I certainly am not mathematically oriented. But in any event, I think of investment management more as an art than a science.”

Co-founder in 1994 of the investment advisory services company known today as Horizon Kinetics Holding Corporation, Meditz said he is “more than happy continuing to work” and has no intention of retiring. His spare time is devoted to not-for-profit boards and committees — including Fairfield’s Board of Trustees, which he’s served on for 28 years — and philanthropy.

“There are plenty of opportunities to provide financial assistance,” said Meditz. “I seem to get a solicitation from every charity in Western civilization. Who’s the most worthy? Fairfield, obviously, in my mind, is most worthy.”

“If one is successful,” he continued, “one should have a strong obligation to make good use of that money, and a good use of that money very definitely relates to supporting education. The only other thing that I’ve been particularly generous to is healthcare. What better causes are there than education and healthcare?”

Meditz’s gifts to Fairfield over the past few decades total more than $75 million and have touched every aspect of student life on campus, from the construction of Egan Chapel in 1989 to the establishment of the Fairfield University Art Museum in 2010 and renovations to the RecPlex in 2016. An endowed scholarship bears his name, as does an apartment-style sophomore residence hall. The museum’s Frank and Clara Meditz Executive Directorship, named after his parents, is currently held by Carey Weber.

“John Meditz had the rare vision to see how transformative a university art museum could be — not just for students and faculty, but for the broader community,” said Weber. “His unwavering support — from helping to create the Fairfield University Art Museum, to endowing the director’s position, to championing ambitious exhibitions over the years — has shaped the museum into a vital cultural and educational force, both for the University as well as the local community.”

Meditz credits his parents — both children of the Depression — with instilling in him the value of giving back. He shared a story his father, Frank Meditz, often told about the generous boss who paid his tuition to attend New York University. The man, Mr. Church, was known for his big heart and his habit of giving to every panhandler who came to the office door. When colleagues warned that he was being taken advantage of, Mr. Church would simply reply, “Of course I know that — but I’d rather give to the nine who don’t deserve it than miss the one who does.”

“I remember that story vividly, said Meditz, “and it played a significant role in my attitude toward philanthropy.”

Instead of referring to his recent $50 million gift as “transformational,” Meditz prefers to think of it as “augmentative.” The funding, he said, will ultimately provide scholarship money, aid in faculty recruitment and retention, and enhance the University museum. He hopes it will also serve as a catalyst that incentivizes others to give generously to Fairfield.

“John’s philanthropy is remarkable and inspirational,” said Wally Halas, executive director for leadership gifts. “His example of giving back has already touched the hearts of many in the Fairfield community — and will continue to inspire alumni, parents, and friends for years to come.”

Like a true product of Jesuit education, Meditz humbly — and cheerfully — embraces the ripple effects of championing the liberal arts. He admitted to feeling “embarrassed” by the honor of having Meditz College named after him, but said he’ll be “proud to meet its first graduating class” under his banner.

“I made the quip one time: never express an interest in something,” he said with a smile, “because you’ll eventually get to pay for it.”

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