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CORNELL TECH BOOSTFirst graduate fellowship
Practicum at Cornell Tech in New York City See larger image
Just weeks after the start of its "beta" class of eight students, Cornell NYC Tech has announced the creation of the James H. and Marilyn H. Simons Graduate Fellowship, established with a $2.5 million commitment. Named after its benefactors, the gift will further Cornell Tech's mission of advancing New York through the intersection of academia and industry.
"This fellowship demonstrates a tremendous vote of confidence in Cornell Tech's promise of turning research and discovery into innovations that will create jobs and change lives in New York City and beyond," says Cornell President David Skorton.
Daniel Huttenlocher, dean of the tech campus, adds: "This gift is a fantastic start to the fellowship funding that is so critical to supporting the best and brightest students at Cornell Tech. Through its combination of endowment and current-use funds, the gift is both immediate and far-reaching." The fellowship currently provides financial support for two students in the inaugural class and is expected to grow as the endowment grows, supporting more students in the years to come, according to the dean.
Through personal gifts and with contributions made through the Simons Foundation, the Simonses have supported their own alma maters and many educational organizations and institutions over the decades. In recent years, the foundation, which seeks to advance research in mathematics and the basic sciences, has made several gifts to Cornell, including support for Cornell University Library's open-access digital archive of scientific papers and grants to faculty such as the Simons Investigators Award, given to computer science professor Jon Kleinberg in 2012.
A mathematics professor turned hedge fund entrepreneur, James Simons holds a bachelor's degree in mathematics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Ph.D. in the same field from the University of California-Berkeley. He is president of Euclidean Capital and board chair of the Simons Foundation and Renaissance Technologies LLC, an investment firm in New York. He has taught at MIT, Harvard and SUNY Stony Brook, and is the founder and chairman of Math for America, a nonprofit organization that advances science and mathematics education in public secondary schools across the United States.
Marilyn Simons holds a bachelor's and a doctoral degree in economics from SUNY Stony Brook, and she is the president of the Simons Foundation. She is also vice president of the board of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, known for its path-breaking research related to cancer, genomics and other related fields.
"Cornell Tech's mission aligns closely with our own philanthropic interests and our hopes for a stronger, more energized New York," James Simons states. "We see Cornell Tech as a catalyst for making this happen."
"We recognize that the vitality of the tech campus depends on the caliber of its students," Marilyn Simons adds. "This fellowship is an investment in the talents and ingenuity of a new generation of scientists and industry leaders."
Gilovich named first Rosenfeld chair in psychology
Thomas Gilovich. See larger image
Psychology professor Thomas Gilovich has been named the first Irene Blecker Rosenfeld Chair of Psychology. The chair, newly endowed by alumna Irene Rosenfeld and her husband, Richard Illgen, is intended for a professor specializing in social psychology and honors Rosenfeld's inspiring undergraduate professors.
"This is the first new chair in psychology in a long time," says G. Peter Lepage, the Harold Tanner Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. "We're very grateful to Irene and her husband for their generous gift. And I think this chair is a perfect match: Irene is a marketing whiz, and Tom is an expert on how people make decisions."
"It's especially gratifying that this chair comes from Irene Rosenfeld," says Gilovich, "who, as one of our majors, knows from firsthand experience what psychology and our department have to offer."
"My psychology degree has been a critical enabler of my success," says Rosenfeld. "I am delighted to have this opportunity to give back to the department in some small way."
Rosenfeld holds Cornell degrees in psychology (B.S., 1975), business administration (M.S., 1977) and marketing and statistics (Ph.D., 1980) and has served as a Cornell trustee since 1999. She is the first woman Robert S. Hatfield Fellow in Economic Education, the highest honor Cornell bestows on individuals from the corporate sector. She is also the recipient, along with her daughter, Allison Rosenfeld '08, of Cornell Hillel's 2010 Tanner Prize, and was the Johnson's 2007 Lewis H. Durland Memorial lecturer.
Irene Blecker Rosenfeld. See larger image
Rosenfeld's 30 years of food and beverage industry experience includes two years as chairman and CEO of Frito-Lay before becoming CEO of Kraft Foods in 2006. She successfully led the restructuring and resurgence of the company, and after splitting Kraft into two public traded companies in 2012, became CEO of the larger company, Mondelez International, a global snack food business.
The Financial Times and Fortune recently ranked Rosenfeld No. 1 in their "Top 50 Women in Global Business" and "50 Most Powerful Women in Business" lists.
Gilovich is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and co-director of the Cornell Center for Behavioral Economics and Decision Research. He received his Ph.D. from Stanford University in 1981 and has spent his entire academic career at Cornell, chairing the psychology department from 2005 to 2011.
His research interests include judgment, decision-making, optimism, pessimism, satisfaction and regret. He is the lead author of "Social Psychology," one of the most widely used textbooks in that field.
"Tom is among our best teachers," says psychology chair and professor James Cutting. "He's had more graduate students than anyone in the department. He is a consummate academic and a wonderful human being."
Psychology professor Thomas Gilovich has been named the first Irene Blecker Rosenfeld Chair of Psychology. The chair, newly endowed by alumna Irene Rosenfeld and her husband, Richard Illgen, is intended for a professor specializing in social psychology and honors Rosenfeld's inspiring undergraduate professors.
Scholarship gift for alumna
Photo: Provided. See larger image
When Jean Way Schoonover, A&S '41 (pictured at right), passed away in 2011, her son Jim Schoonover '79 says he knew the perfect way to honor her memory: endow a scholarship in her name at Cornell. After all, no fewer than 15 relatives - ancestors and offspring alike - were Cornellians, too, and she devoted much volunteer time and philanthropy to her alma mater.
She had graduated with a degree in English, worked her way from editor at a small food-industry publication to CEO and co-owner, with her sister, Barbara Way Hunter '49, of one of the most successful and first women-owned public relations firms in New York City, Dudley-Anderson-Yutzy. The firm was purchased by Ogilvy & Mather in 1983, and Schoonover stayed on as an executive.
She served on the Cornell University Board of Trustees and the Cornell University Council, and for decades supported the Class of 1941 through leadership and fundraising. At the time of her death she was president and reunion chair for her class.
According to family history, Schoonover's grandfather, William, was the son of a coal miner with little formal schooling. He lived out Ezra Cornell's vision of "any person ... any study," obtaining degrees in civil engineering and architecture, and married Cornell's great-niece Cora. Jim Schoonover, his brother, C. Daniel Schoonover, and sister, Katherine, honor this legacy and their mother's memory through the Jean Way Schoonover '41 Memorial Scholarship in the College of Arts and Sciences.
– Items written by Jose Perez Beduya, Melissa DuBois and Linda B. Glaser