Meet Our Donors
We thank all our planned-gift donors for their generous support. Here are some of their stories.
Dean Emeritus Abraham L. Gitlow
A remarkable teacher, charismatic leader and prolific author, Abraham L. Gitlow played a principal role in the rapid ascent of NYU’s Leonard N. Stern School of Business to its position as an internationally renowned institution. Abe began his career at NYU over 60 years ago as an instructor, and served as Dean from 1965 to 1985. Abe’s leadership enabled the School to survive the most difficult financial times in its history during the late 1960s. Now Dean Emeritus and Professor of Economics Emeritus at the Stern School, Abe is far from retired. He continues to teach and is co-writing his fourteenth book.
Abe remains an active and energetic part of the NYU and Stern communities through his presence -- and through his generous contributions, which include his gifts to the NYU Charitable Gift Annuity that pay him income for life.
“The gift annuity is a great deal, both for me and for NYU. When I make a gift to the Annuity, it pays me a high and predictable income, and I get a significant up-front income tax deduction. I may not know where the markets are heading, but I can be certain that I’m going to receive this income in the years ahead. And at the same time, I will be growing the Abraham L. Gitlow Scholarship Fund for future Stern students. What can be better?”
Gilbert Bieger
For Gilbert Bieger (STERN ’48) getting an education at NYU involved hard work and big sacrifices, just as it was – and remains – for others. During his undergraduate career at NYU, Gil worked at a bank full time. After sharing his income with his mother and paying his commuting costs, he could afford NYU tuition only because his employer provided lunch.
Recognizing that many students today face similar challenges, Gil helped future generations of Stern students avoid the challenges that he faced, by providing a legacy in his will for a scholarship fund at NYU’s Stern School.
Professor Robert E. Berger
For Professor Robert E. Berger, NYU was home throughout his teaching career. Professor Berger joined the NYU’s faculty in 1956 and retired in 1989. During his three decades at the University, Professor Berger taught in the Political Science and History departments, while also serving as a dean of the Faculty of Arts and Science and sustaining close relationships with undergraduate students, to whose education and future he felt an extraordinary devotion.
He became closely involved with pre-law students and programming at Washington Square College, and, as a mentor to the College’s pre-law students, grew to be seen as a beloved father figure to generations of future lawyers.
Professor Berger left NYU a generous legacy consisting of his entire estate, for the support of students and faculty in the academic departments that played a crucial role in his life.
Essie Barry
As thousands of students do each year, Essie Barry came to New York City in 1959 to pursue her dream of a college education.
Born on a former slave plantation in Mississippi, Essie was 46 years old and a widowed mother of three when she came to the City without friends, family, money, or a ticket home.
And she persevered. Over a period of 17 years, Essie worked during the day, first as a live-in domestic and later as a teacher. She studied at night, earning six separate degrees. She completed her last degree, as M.S. in Education Administration, at the Steinhardt School in 1975 at age 62. Essie’s daughter Carlita eventually joined her in New York, earned an undergraduate scholarship to NYU, and then attended the NYU School of Medicine.
In recognition of the opportunities that NYU gave her, Essie provided in her will for a generous legacy for student scholarships.
Eberhard Berent and Paul Lott
Inspired by their dedication to art and culture, Eberhard Berent and Paul Lott made gifts to the University through the NYU Charitable Gift Annuity, which will pay them a high and secure income throughout their lifetimes and substantially lower their taxes.
“This is all my real savings,” says Berent, a professor emeritus of NYU who used his gift to establish a new professorship in Goethe Studies. “I wanted to use it to create something meaningful and support the University that has played a central role in my life.” The Charitable Gift Annuity enables him to promote NYU’s continued excellence while also achieving his own financial objectives.
Lott, an expert in tax and finance, used his gift to establish a lectureship and fellowships in fine art. “In this time of economic uncertainty, I can’t see a more rewarding and stable way to support the arts and help increase my retirement income,” he says.
For both Prof. Berent and Mr. Lott, giving to NYU is a hallmark of their commitment to the world of art and culture, and wise planning helps them enjoy their gifts and take full advantage of the financial and tax benefits.
Paul and Gloria Einhorn
Grateful for tuition assistance he received when he was a student at NYU, Paul Einhorn (STERN ’39) and his wife Gloria have long desired to establish a permanent scholarship fund at the Stern School. “Education is the greatest gift,” Paul says. “I wanted to pay NYU back for the education I received, and help students obtain the same advantages I experienced.”
For the Einhorns, the chance to give back finally arrived – on a scale much greater than they had imagined possible. Their charitable goals and financial circumstances, combined with the tax laws, presented an opportunity in the form of a Charitable Remainder Trust. Paul faced a significant capital gain if he sold his highly appreciated stock. Instead, he contributed the stock to the CRT, avoided the capital gain, and the CRT became a source of income for Paul and Gloria. Ultimately, the trust assets will create the scholarship fund they had dreamed of.
Donald Simms
Donald Simms named the Leonard N. Stern School of Business as the principal beneficiary of his estate. Mr. Simms remembered the Stern School so generously because of his desire to provide tuition assistance and encouragement to students who would otherwise be forced to work two or even three jobs (as many of our students do), and miss out on a full appreciation and enjoyment of a close relationship with teachers and classmates.
Mr. Simms’s own story is one of perseverance and diligence. He entered the Stern School (then the School of Commerce) in 1948, shouldering a full course-load as well as working full-time on the midnight shift at a residence for delinquent children to pay for his tuition and books. Through it all, he missed the opportunity to spend time with other students--a lasting regret which compelled him to provide for a scholarship fund, so that other students will have the freedom to engage in a variety of activities and to apply themselves more fully to their studies.
Leif Olsen
Leif Olsen is the proud owner of three degrees, a transformative set of experiences, and a life-income annuity – all from New York University.
Leif took his first NYU course in 1940, when he signed up for an adult vocational education course at Washington Square. At the time, he was a recent high school graduate working in a Hoboken marine electrical shop. Following his military service in World War II, Leif immediately headed back to Washington Square and NYU. Dispatching his early dream of writing the Great American Novel, Leif took two graduate degrees in psychology at the Steinhardt School, and enjoyed a long career in the field of human resources management.
“My NYU professors did more than simply teach me,” says Leif, “they also shaped my life. I remember them all with deep appreciation and fondness.” The chair of his doctoral committee was the legendary Professor Roscoe C. Brown, Jr., who had been one of the famed Tuskegee Airmen before beginning his own NYU career.
Leif and his wife Mary made a generous gift to the Steinhardt School through the NYU Charitable Gift Annuity, which pays them a secure and fixed income for the rest of their lives. As Leif said, “We only wished we could have given even more – because the Steinhardt School deserves it, but also because we can use the income and the income tax deduction, too!”
Lucille Katz Posner
Lucille Katz Posner (WSC ’48) has supported the NYU College of Arts and Science for decades. And a large portion of her support comes in the form of contributions to NYU’s charitable gift annuity. Lucille, like many alumni, makes the NYU charitable gift annuity part of her annual giving, because of its significant financial and tax advantages.
Lucille enrolled at NYU under the GI Bill, after her service as a Naval Reserve WAVE during World War II. “Even though I attended the College as a mature student, my years there were a critical experience in making me understand the world better,” says Posner. “What I learned there and the habits of thought I encountered remain valuable to me in everything I do.”
NYU’s charitable gift annuity pays Lucille a high and secure income in exchange for her contributions. Much of her NYU annuity income is tax-free, and she obtains a substantial charitable deduction from her gifts. “I have a lifelong connection with NYU, so I want to support the College financially,” says Posner. “I’m delighted that the gift annuity makes it even easier for me to support NYU, because I receive a high income from my contributions. I can certainly use the money to support my travel addiction!”
Benjamin Wolstein
Dr. Benjamin Wolstein arrived at NYU to pursue his second doctoral degree. He stayed at NYU to become a teacher, scholar, mentor and training analyst to generations of psychotherapists. Ben had pursued rabbinical studies early in his career, and described himself as possessing "a Western psychoanalyzed mind, an Eastern Yogic body, and a Hassidic Jewish soul."
He was a passionate and challenging teacher and analyst, and an inspirational, even mythic, figure in the field of psychoanalysis. His professional career spanned a half century as a theoretical and clinical trailblazer. Through his prolific research and writing, as well as his influence upon scores of today’s leading analysts and teachers, Ben had an enormous impact on contemporary clinical psychology. A course specifically devoted to his work is now taught in NYU’s Postdoctoral Program in Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis where he remains a major influence on new generations of students.
At his death Ben left a generous legacy to ensure the continuing excellence of the program he loved, for the benefit of future generations of students, therapists and patients.