About Richard Sager '74

Sager earned a B.A. in economics from Swarthmore and an M.B.A. from Stanford University.  He moved to San Diego after graduate school and became involved with several LGBT organizations, ultimately chairing the San Diego HIV Funding Collaborative. Sager also co-founded the San Diego Human Dignity Foundation, an LGBT community foundation, and is a past board chair of ARTS - A Reason to Survive, which provides arts-based programs for at-risk youth.

"Swarthmore taught me that there are many directions from which to look at a problem," once Sager said. "I think I understood that a creative approach, different from the obvious, was often the most effective and satisfying. Doing my first estate plan after my HIV diagnosis in the mid-1980s, I wanted to give to the LGBTQ community, and wanted to do it through an entity with a proven record of shepherding, protecting, and growing resources. Swarthmore seemed a natural."

Sager passed away in November 2024. His legacy lives on through his incredible fund at Swarthmore College and beyond. Before his passing, Sager gave the 2024 Alumni Weekend Collection. You can watch that speech here.