The School recently received the single largest donation in its 140-year history, $5 million, to support faculty salaries and teacher initiatives, the administration announced yesterday in a campus-wide email.

Head of School Judith Guild expressed gratitude toward the anonymous donor, who made the gift over the summer.

“Our faculty is the heart and soul of a Brimmer education,” Guild said. “I am humbled and grateful for this generous gift that will help us compensate, retain, and reward our faculty at a level that is worthy of their talents.”

The generous donation will mainly be targeted toward creating an “Endowment for Faculty Salaries and Teaching Excellence,” to be used in the future. The other portion of the contribution will be used over the next two years to fund faculty salaries, faculty innovation grants, and faculty retention efforts.

Board Chair David Kreisler echoed Guild’s statement.

“A gift of this magnitude for faculty compensation is a dream come true for the School,” Kreisler said. “The endowment and the income generated over time will ensure that Brimmer can retain and reward its outstanding faculty, without putting pressure on other parts of the budget, for years to come.”

Director of Development Elizabeth Smith addressed faculty in an email announcing the donation.

“We are so thrilled to have secured this historic gift and it is only fitting that you, the faculty, were the inspiration,” Smith said. “During a time when you are working harder than ever under extraordinary circumstances, please know that the Brimmer community is firmly in support of all you do for our students.”