Memorial fund honors Griffin James' dedication to education, community
April 16, 2025 03:10 PM
Sara E. James, MS MD PhD DABA‑PM, has created the Griffin Hale James Memorial Scholarship Fund to honor her late husband, Griffin, a man whose legacy of quiet support, hard work, and dedication to community was evident in every facet of his life. This scholarship, aimed at helping undergraduate students further their education at the Gies College of Business, reflects Griffin’s dedication to higher education and his deep commitment to his community.
Sara and Griffin’s story began in Boston. She was immersed in her work as a resident physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, while he was launching a successful corporate real estate and business consulting career at Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited. Griffin grew up in small town Western Massachusetts, bushwhacking his parents’ backyard to build his own ski runs. After graduating from Brown University in 2001 with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering, where he was also a captain of the downhill ski racing team, he intended to “build big buildings”. He moved to Boston with his lifelong best friends from Brown after graduation and did just this for a few years at Gilbane Building Company, but knew that he wanted to further his education. He was accepted to both business and law school and, at the last minute, committed to Harvard Business School, where he finished his MBA in 2008.
“He always joked that he kind of fell into his business career, that he went to Harvard on a whim,” Sara said. “But I know it was meant to be because his HBS section mates remain some of his most loyal friends even after his death.”
