ARCHIVE

SCHOLARSHIP GIFT FROM STAN BECKER ’55

This past December, Stan Becker made a significant gift to Baruch College to create the Edythe Becker Scholarship. He did so to acknowledge his wife Edythe as “his muse, his critic, his cajoler, and as a beautiful writer.” Beginning Fall 2011, the Department of Journalism and Writing Professions will award this scholarship annually to bright and deserving journalism majors.

Stan Becker graduated from Baruch in 1955 with a B.B.A. in Advertising. He worked his way up and became the Vice Chairman and Chief Creative Officer for Saatchi & Saatchi. When he retired in 1998, Stan returned to Baruch where he was a distinguished lecturer in marketing. His dedication to students and serving Baruch College won him the Alumni Allegiance Award at his 50^th Reunion in 2005.

GALA HONORS HOWIE SMITH & TERRY MARTELL

The 22nd Annual Bernard Baruch Dinner visited a new venue this year, Manhattan's Gotham Hall, on April 27, 2011. The evening honored alumnus Howard I. Smith '65 with the Distinguished Alumnus award, and notable faculty member Terrence F. Martell with the inaugural Distinguished Faculty award. The event was attended by 500 guests including alumni, corporate partners, faculty, staff, and friends. Baruch College Fund President Lawrence Simon ’65 welcomed guests with warm remarks, and CUNY Chancellor Matthew Goldstein remembered Sidney M. Harman '39, LLD (Hon.) '09, one of Baruch’s most distinguished alumni who recently passed away. Brenda Buttner, Senior Business Correspondent for Fox News hosted the event and student speakers, Carmen Cortez '13, Christian Sarmiento '13, Irina Mironova '12, and John Tevlin '09, charmed the crowd; sharing their individual experiences at Baruch along with their future professional and academic aspirations.

This year’s dinner proved to be a great success, grossing $1 million to support Baruch College. "While private philanthropy cannot -- and, indeed, should not -- become a substitute for public funding and tuition, we depend increasingly on our alumni and friends to help maintain the academic excellence of Baruch and help the College continue to advance," said Baruch College President Mitchel Wallerstein of this accomplishment.

ACCOUNTING STUDENTS AND FACULTY RECEIVE SUPPORT

Henry “Hank” Schram has made a new $100,000 pledge to support the Baruch Means Business campaign and the Stan Ross Department of Accountancy. This is the second such gift Hank has made, and like his first gift, allows the Stan Ross Department of Accountancy to undertake critical initiatives to support its faculty and students.

Hank graduated from Baruch in 1967 with a B.B.A. in Accounting. He worked for Arthur Young and Company, and later left to join The Chubb Corporation. He retired in 2008 as the principal accounting officer for The Chubb Corporation.

SUPPORT FOR FACULTY RESEARCH AND WRITING

Mrs. Giles Whiting Foundation has provided generous annual grants since 2002 to support research sabbaticals for Baruch’s junior tenure-track faculty members in the humanities who have been judged to be among the College’s most excellent teachers.  Since the program began, 21 faculty members have been awarded from one to two semesters of release from teaching to pursue their research and writing.  This level of support for faculty is extraordinary and the College appreciates both the Foundation’s recognition of Baruch faculty members’ excellent teaching and the very much-needed support for their research. 

A reception honoring the Mrs. Giles Whiting Foundation and recipients of Baruch’s Whiting Teaching Award was held on April 4, 2011.  President Mitchel Wallerstein and Vice Provost Dennis Slavin welcomed Bob Belknap, President, and Kellye Rosenheim, Director of Operations, from the Foundation and congratulated new and past recipients of the award.  Professor Gregory Snyder from the Department of Anthropology and Sociology gave a presentation on the research he conducted during his Whiting Award sabbatical in 2009-2010, which has led to the publication of his forthcoming article “The City and the Subculture Career: Professional Street Skateboarding in LA,” which will be published in Ethnography, a leading journal for sociologists and ethnographers, in June 2011. 

Photo: (top) Kellye Rosenheim, Robert Belknap, and President Wallerstein (right) Gregory Snyder

ERNST & YOUNG RENEWS PLEDGE

One of the Big 4 accounting firms, Ernst & Young has pledged to continue to support a special and critical position within the Stan Ross Accountancy Department to facilitate exchange between students, faculty, and firms within the industry for two more years.  The pledge, totaling over $100,000, is funded through gifts from the firm’s alumni with matching support from the Ernst & Young Foundation.  The position is currently held by Zeljko Sockovic, who graduated from Baruch in 2004 with a B.A. in English and in 2008 with a M.B.A in Accounting.

EUGENE M. LANG FOUNDATION PROVIDES FELLOWSHIPS

The Lang Fellowship program, established in 1998 and endowed in 2008 by renowned entrepreneur and philanthropist Eugene M. Lang, has provided grants to over 80 of Baruch’s junior faculty members over the past 13 years.  The fellowships are competitively awarded to junior faculty members each year to help support their scholarly research and creative projects and enable them to make significant contributions to their academic disciplines and explore new areas of inquiry.  This generous faculty development program also enriches undergraduate education and provides crucial support to the College’s ability to recruit and retain the best faculty members.

A reception to honor the achievements of Baruch’s Eugene M. Lang Junior Faculty Research Fellowship recipients, past and present, and to show the College’s appreciation to the Eugene M. Lang Foundation for its generosity was held on May 11th.  Provost James McCarthy and Professor Terrence Martell, Director of the Weissman Center for International Business, welcomed guests from the Foundation - Eugene Lang, President, and Lauren McGrail, Associate Director - and congratulated the Lang Fellows on their accomplishments.  Lang Fellows Hilary Botein (School of Public Affairs), David Gruber (Natural Sciences), and Katherine Pence (History) spoke about their research. 

Photo: (top) Hilary Botein, Eugene Lang, Lauren McGrail, Katherine Pence, and David Gruber (right) Terrence Martell, Eugene Lang, and President Wallerstein

RENEWED SUPPORT TO RECRUIT & ENROLL STUDENTS
Donna and Marvin C. Schwartz '62, LHD (Hon.) '02 have once again generously pledged $1 million to Baruch College in support and pursuit of student and institutional excellence. Marvin Schwartz graduated from Baruch with a BBA in 1962. Today he is Vice Chairman of the Neuberger Berman Group LLC. Donna and Marvin have been supporting Baruch for many years and this gift will enable the College to continue to recruit and enroll talented students, and allow Baruch to remain in an upward trajectory of distinction.

SCHOLARSHIP FUND INCREASES
The Solon E. Summerfield Foundation made a $35,000 gift to the College this year - significantly increasing the value of the Foundation's endowed scholarship fund at Baruch to well over $200,000. Since 1973, when the Foundation first established the fund with a gift of $1,000, dozens of students have received scholarships, which are designated for undergraduate students demonstrating academic excellence. The Solon E. Summerfield Scholarship Fund currently supports at least three students every year with generous awards of several thousand dollars each.

JEWISH STUDIES CENTER LAUNCHES AT BARUCH
On November 10th, 2010, Baruch College officially launched its very own Jewish Studies Center, housed under the Weissman School of Arts and Sciences. The evening featured a panel discussion about "Jewish Immigration to New York" represented by various Jewish communities. The launch event was made possible by the generosity of Baruch alumni, Ruth Printz O'Hara '52 and Donald Hecht '54. Their vision and passion for this initiative were instrumental in making the launch of the Center a reality.

The Jewish Studies Center will serve as a home at Baruch for the celebration and study of Jewish life in America and New York. It will offer interdisciplinary courses, public programs, discussions and events exploring the role of New York and American Jewry in national and global culture and politics; Israeli politics and society; the Holocaust; Jewish philanthropy; Jewish business ethics; Jewish identity and continuity; and the changing face of American Jewry.

"The Jewish Studies Center at Baruch College is a natural extension of the story of Baruch itself, which has historically had a strong connection to the New York Jewish community, educating the sons and daughters of Jewish immigrants," said Jeffrey Peck, Professor and Dean of the Weissman School of Arts and Sciences at Baruch College.

If you were unable to attend the launch you can view the panel discussion on our website: Click to Watch!

TARGET CONTINUES ITS SUPPORT
The company has become a valued employer of Baruch students and last year added financial support to the College with two gifts. This year, they are funding the Rising Starr Sophomore (RSS) program at our Starr Career Development Center with a new gift of $5,000, and have dedicated volunteers for the program as well. The RSS program will prepare students for work and leadership roles by providing a set of interdisciplinary, structured on- and off-campus, learning experiences culminating in the award of a certificate.

A NEW PARTNERSHIP WITH THE RUBIN MUSEUM OF ART
The Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation has kicked off an exciting new collaboration between Baruch College and the Rubin Museum of Art with a commitment of $1 million dollars. The grant will finance the development of art-enriched programing at the College. The goal of this partnership is to better educate Baruch students on the important role art plays in the development of civil societies and their cultural and spiritual values.

Baruch College will work to expand and share what is developed with other CUNY colleges, and this project will complement other programs spearheaded by Dean Jeffrey Peck designed to expand students' social awareness through integration of the arts into the College curriculum.

CRITICAL UNRESTRICTED SUPPORT FOR THE COLLEGE
Henry "Hank" Schram, Class of '67 and retired Chief Accounting Officer of The Chubb Corporation, has made a generous gift of $100,000. Understanding that the College needs unrestricted support to remain flexible and respond quickly to the needs of students, deans and faculty, this gift will be split between general support to the College and support to the Stan Ross Department of Accountancy. With this gift, he renews an earlier, multi-year gift of the same size.

A SPECIAL REUNION CHALLENGE
In early Spring of this year, Po Sit '85, a tax partner at Davis Polk, heard about his classmate Luz Liebeskind's generous $50,000 Gift Challenge in honor of the 25th anniversary of their graduation from Baruch. Po's winning spirit came through immediately, and he committed to making sure the Gift Challenge would be a huge success and that his class would reach the $50,000 goal. In the days leading up to Reunion 2010, Po made an important gift which enabled the class to reach $100,000, the largest ever 25th Reunion Class gift. For Po, it is important that Baruch continue to be a place where students have the same opportunities that he had as a student.

A REPRISE OF THE FILM "ARGUING THE WORLD"
The Weissman School of Arts and Sciences sponsored an event on Thursday, October 14, 2010: Arguing the World, at the Baruch Performing Arts Center. Organized by Presidential Professor Carol Berkin of the History Department, Arguing the World, a film and discussion, focused on four major intellectual figures known as the New York Intellectuals: Irving Kristol, Nathan Glazer, Irving Howe, and Daniel Bell. The film is described as "the story of a lifelong political argument among brilliant and engaging individuals who came of age as radicals at [our own] ...City College of New York during the Great Depression and then journeyed across the political spectrum."

The panel comprised of the following: Jordy Bell, Eric Cohen, Mitchell Cohen, Joseph Dorman, and Russell Jacoby.

This special event was made possible by the extraordinary support and generosity of Baruch alumnus Robert A. Friedman MBA '67, who also moderated the panel.

Watch the panel discussion: Video

Read about the event & speakers: Bios

DEPT. OF MARKETING & INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS GETS NAMED & ENDOWED

In 2008, Allen G. Aaronson returned to Baruch for the first time since he graduated 60 years ago for reunion festivities. Grateful for his college experience and education, Allen wanted to ensure that Baruch students of today and future will continue to have the same opportunities he was afforded. At the Bernard Baruch Benchmark Society Luncheon on May 17, 2010, it was announced that Allen Aaronson will be donating $3 million to support the Baruch Means Business Campaign and establish his legacy at Baruch.

The Department of Marketing & International Business will be named for Allen due to his generosity and will be referred to as the Allen G. Aaronson Department of Marketing & International Business, in perpetuity.  His gift will support department activities including faculty recruitment, retention and research, curriculum development, study abroad opportunities, internships, and student competitions.  He wishes to transform the student experience of those enrolled in the department’s programs with his gift.

PROUD ALUMNA ESTABLISHES A PERMANENT SCHOLARSHIP
Helen Hollinger Reiser '40 is very proud of the fact that she is among a pioneering class of women at Baruch College. A nearly 4 year ban on the admission of women into the School of Business was lifted by CUNY in 1936, and Helen was among 75 freshmen women admitted into the class of 1940.  In 2007, Helen decided to provide an annual full-tuition scholarship for a financially-needy, academically-promising Baruch student -- preferably a woman.  To commemorate the 70th anniversary of her graduation from Baruch, she endowed the scholarship in perpetuity with a $100,000 gift. 

A DEDICATION FOR ONE OF BARUCH’S MOST QUINTESSENTIAL COUPLES
They met in a stairway of 17 Lex and have been together ever since, so it's no surprise that Bernard and Arlene Richards remain dedicated and loyal supporters of Baruch College.  In supporting the Baruch Means Business Campaign, Bernie and Arlene decided to support the College in two ways.  First, they increased their scholarship fund to support additional needy students. Second they became the most recent participants in the College's Class Act program, where six figure unrestricted gifts are honored and recognized by naming classrooms in the Newman Vertical Campus.  Members of the Richards family gathered in early June to dedicate their classroom and celebrate their lives together, along with their ongoing generosity to Baruch College.

CLASS OF 1985 GIFT CAMPAIGN
“It seems like so long ago... and I have so many reasons to be thankful for Baruch. Not only did it open the doors to a college education, it gave me the opportunities I needed to be successful. I had only been living in America for one year before starting my education at Baruch and the community was incredibly supportive of me.”

Like so many of us, Luz Divina Liebeskind attributes much of her success to Baruch College. She graduated in 1985 with an accounting degree, became a C.P.A., and returned to Baruch to get her M.S. in finance in 2008. Today, Luz is the CFO of The Hebrew Home at Riverdale and previously was the Deputy Controller at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She is also an active and dedicated member of the Baruch College Fund Board of Trustees.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the graduating class from 1985 - a cause for celebration and a trip down memory lane. For Luz, this is also a time to honor Baruch and distinguish her class.

To ensure that the Class of ’85 is doing their part to help today’s students, Luz is asking for your generous support and participation in the Class of 1985 Gift Campaign. She will personally match your gift dollar for dollar up to $50,000. Your contribution will have double the impact! (Make your secure online gift here.)

FOUNDATION INCREASES SUPPORT FOR STUDENTS
The Sunny and Abe Rosenberg Foundation made a generous $50,000 gift in March to the Baruch College Honors Program.  The Rosenbergs and their Foundation, now headed by daughter Susan Rosenberg Goldstein, have been long-time donors to Baruch College.  In 1978, the Rosenbergs established an endowed scholarship fund to support Honors Program students and have been making generous donations to the fund for over 30 years.  This most recent gift supports both the scholarships and additional programs and services that support the academic, personal, and professional success of Honors Program students. 

According to Honors Program Director Elizabeth Bergman: “We are so grateful for this wonderful gift!  It will support our academic programs and is also very important to our ability to assist students who are not typically able to afford to attend conferences, accept unpaid internships, travel abroad, or attend cultural events.”

MULTIMEDIA NEWSROOM & CLASSROOM DEDICATED
Baruch College has unveiled "Studio H," a state-of-the-art journalism laboratory designed to bring cutting-edge technological capabilities into the classroom and train the next generation of students in the most advanced techniques of news gathering and dissemination. The facility was made possible by a $1 million gift from The Harnisch Family Philanthropies. Ruth Ann and William ('68) Harnisch have called Studio H a "bold investment" intended to "produce returns that we can't yet imagine."

Studio H includes 24 work stations fully equipped with computers and sophisticated editing software as well as video and digital cameras and sound-recording equipment. The facility also has high-quality multimedia presentation capabilities.

Stan Altman, President of Baruch College, said "The professional-quality facility offers Baruch College a world-class resource for preparing tomorrow's practitioners and leaders in the fields of journalism, new media, and all of the writing professions. It immediately helps to position our new journalism department in the forefront of professional writing programs in the City and the region."

BARUCH HILLEL CLUB SPACE NAMED AFTER THE PERELSONS
When Ruth Perelson ('58) was chair of Reunion 2008, she and her husband, Sam Perelson ('56), decided to commemorate the occasion with a special gift to the "Baruch Means Business" Campaign. Both had been campus leaders as undergraduates (each as editor-in-chief of The Ticker) and appreciated the value of a vibrant student life experience.

Sam, as a support, and Ruth, as a Board member of Hillel at Baruch, were eager to assist the students involved with this popular campus organization. Their gift will name the Hillel club site, "Hillel at Baruch - The Ruth and Sam Perelson Suite."

NEW SCHOLARSHIP FOR REAL ESTATE STUDENTS
In honor of her late husband, Helene Berg made a gift to Baruch College to create the Jerome S. Berg Scholarship. This scholarship will be awarded to students majoring in Real Estate. Graduating from Baruch in 1949, Jerry was an attorney and owner/president of his own real estate company, Jah-Jah Realty. He served on the Board of the Baruch College Fund and Newman Real Estate Advisory Board. Jerry previously served as president of the United Way of Staten Island  and was a CUNY Trustee appointed by former Mayor Giuliani, serving from 1994-1997. Baruch is extremely grateful for Jerry's unwavering support for his alma mater and thankful for the continued commitment by the Berg family.

RECENT ALUMNUS JOINS 17 LEX SOCIETY
Benjamin M. Polen (MBA '08) is a supporter of the Baruch College Fund. He believes that Baruch provided him with a strong foundation in business, finance, accounting, and marketing. At Baruch he was able to develop leadership skills and relations, which he expects to keep for the rest of his life. Ben believes that Baruch is training the leaders of tomorrow and is happy to help in any way he can. To show his appreciation for the opportunities provided him through Baruch--and to aid in providing that same opportunity to others--he is honored to donate to the Baruch College Fund.


PRESIDENT ALTMAN AND HIS VISION
Dr. Stan Altman was named president of Baruch College in August, 2009. He is a tenured Professor in the School of Public Affairs and served as the School's Dean from 1999-2005. In building a career to achieve his ambitious public sector objectives, Dr. Altman has developed a powerful cross-disciplinary approach to problem solving. He holds a doctorate in Systems Science from the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn, a Masters of Science in Electrical Engineering from Purdue University and a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering from the City College of New York. His areas of expertise and interest include strategic planning, improving productivity of public services, nonprofit management, health policy, and social entrepreneurship.

Under President Altman's leadership, the College has embarked on an initiative to unlock critical strategic priorities: Academic Excellence, Diversity and Leadership; Professional and Executive
Education; and Campus Expansion. Three working groups, comprised of key campus leaders, BCF Trustees, College faculty and staff, will meet over the next three months to create plans that allow the College to move forward in these areas.

Academic Excellence, Diversity and Leadership
Baruch College has positioned itself to become New York City's premier public institution of higher learning. Baruch emphasizes access to excellence through research and scholarship, academic rigor, and consistent attention to the needs of a diverse and global society. The College will prepare tomorrow's leaders and practitioners through rigorous and substantive internships. Baruch will undertake ambitious efforts to extend its reputation by investing in student scholarships, new facilities, new faculty and staff, and more.

Professional and Executive Education
Baruch has the elements of a comprehensive education integrated with the knowledge of financial, political, and administrative elements. We work hard to build partnerships with the business, nonprofit or government communities we serve. Important components of these partnerships are the professional and executive education programs offered in New York and the executive-form at graduate degree programs at sites in Europe, Israel, and Asia. We are seeking to develop short-term programs designed for very senior executives; develop new certificate programs; and launch new executive masters programs.

Campus Expansion
Baruch College is primed to expand its footprint, not only nationally and globally, but also physically. The College is working to systematically identify and evaluate potential real estate purchases to build dormitory housing for both students and faculty, to build a student center and space for executive education programs.

JESSIE CHEN '11
"If I could meet Bernard Baruch I would tell him that he created a learning environment where ideas are truly valued."

Like many Baruch College students it takes Jessie Chen nearly two hours to get from her home in Bayside, Queens to campus. A finance and investments major with a minor in law and policy, this 19-year old first-generation American refuses to allow her lengthy commute deter her from attaining a 4.0 GPA. "If I get anything other than an A, I feel disappointed," says the Baruch College Harnisch Scholar. Aside from her studies, this Sigma Alpha Delta honors student is the vice president for events for the College's branch of the student-run organization AIESEC, whose English translation means the International Association of Students in Economics and Commercial Sciences. AIESEC's focus, says Chen is on "cultural awareness and breaking down stereotypes" and members often organize local events to raise awareness about other cultures. A recent event involved a collaboration with the Baruch College Polish Club, where attendees ate Polish food, learned Polish words and dances, and viewed a presentation about the country. "We're really proud of what we do, especially since Baruch is such a diverse school."

CAMPAIGN ANNOUNCEMENT

HARNISCH FOUNDATION'S $1 MILLION GIFT ENSURES FUTURE OF JOURNALISM EDUCATION AT BARUCH