The Brandeis University Alumni, Friends, and Families webpage recently shared an obituary honoring alumnus and trustee Curtis Tearte. According to Brandeis, Tearte passed away on September 30, 2025, and is survived by his wife and daughters.
Brandeis described Tearte as a leader in business transformation technology at IBM, where he worked for over 30 years.
During his tenure, he collaborated with Career Communications Group to raise awareness about opportunities in the expanding technology field. As the general manager of IBM's global public sector, Tearte was a prominent voice in discussions aimed at closing the digital divide. In 2002, he co-hosted a Black Family Technology Awareness town hall in New York, where they explored strategies for improving access to computers and internet technology, as well as ways to leverage technology as a tool.
This event was just one of many Black Family Technology Awareness initiatives in which Tearte participated.
In various interviews with US Black Engineer magazine, Tearte advocated for the use of information technology to reduce medical errors. At IBM, he focused on making doctors' offices more efficient, enhancing the healthcare system's use of technology, and improving the technology infrastructure for future advancements. Reflecting on the technological landscape in 2002, he noted the considerable progress made by medical students and the promising future of technology in healthcare. Tearte predicted that the aging baby boomer population would push the healthcare system to become more efficient and fully utilize available technologies.
Other roles he held at IBM included serving as the general manager of end-user customer financing at IBM Credit Corp, where he was responsible for marketing IBM credit capital equipment.
In 2018, The HistoryMakers website recognized him for several achievements, including managing one of the most significant infrastructure technology transformations in the United States.
After retiring, Tearte founded Tearte Associates in 2013 to provide management and business consulting through the Tearte Family Foundation. In 2023, the University of Connecticut School of Law, of which he was also an alumnus, reported that he received the Alumni Achievement Award from Brandeis University, where he earned his BA in 1973.