SAS Partnerships

New Name for Bennett

When Bennett Hall emerges from its renovation this fall, it will bear the name Fisher-Bennett Hall in recognition of a leadership gift from Richard L. Fisher, C’63, G’67. It contributes to a $21 million plan to renovate the 81-year-old building, which has been home to Penn’s College for Women, the English department and several humanities programs. The renovation will add a lecture hall, undergraduate study center and seminar rooms; refurbish classrooms; house the Cinema Studies Program; and offer teaching and rehearsal space for the music department.

“Bennett Hall was my home at Penn,” says Fisher. “As an English major and graduate student, it was in this building that I learned about myself and the world. Later, when I taught in Bennett Hall, I was able to share this knowledge with my students. ... Today’s faculty and students deserve the best environment for their own work.”

Fisher, a senior partner of the New York real estate development firm Fisher Brothers, earned a bachelor’s degree with honors and completed coursework for a doctorate. Before turning to real estate, he was a teaching fellow in the department and wrote for “The Philadelphia Evening Bulletin” and “Philadelphia Magazine.” He is a former trustee and SAS overseer whose gifts include the Richard L. Fisher Professorship in English.

Gift That Gives Back
A charitable gift annuity is a convenient way to make a tax-deductible gift to the school while generating income for yourself or a loved one. There are three simple steps:

1. You make a gift of $10,000 or more, which you may designate for a particular purpose. Many direct their gifts to academic departments, scholarships, fellowships, the Dean’s Discretionary Fund or faculty research. A portion of your gift qualifies for an income tax charitable deduction.

2. Penn makes annual, quarterly or monthly payments to you or other beneficiaries at a percentage of the original gift based on your age. Payment for life is guaranteed regardless of investment results. A portion of each payment may be tax-free or taxed at a low capital gains rate.

3. Upon your death, the remainder of your gift supports the purpose you designated, while your estate may enjoy reduced probate costs and estate taxes.

Until recently, state regulations prevented Penn from accepting gift annuities from residents of some states. We can now write gift annuities in almost every state, including New York, New Jersey and California.

For information contact Janine Ehsani at 800-223-8236 or planned_giving@ben.dev.upenn.edu.

Rodin Fellowships

SAS overseer Raymond K. F. Ch’ien, Gr’78, Par’02, has committed $1 million to establish four graduate fellowships to honor President Emerita Judith Rodin, CW’66. Ch’ien says he created the fellowships to ensure “generations of Penn graduate students appreciate Dr. Rodin’s legacy of service, scholarship and commitment to learning.” The fellowships are for distinguished doctoral students in the social sciences who come from developing countries and are dedicated to nation building.

Named fellowship gifts like Ch’ien’s are key to a new university-wide effort to strengthen graduate education, which President Amy Gutmann says is “essential for recruiting and retaining the very best graduate students and extraordinary faculty members from around the world.” Gutmann recently announced an 11 percent increase in graduate stipends for the upcoming academic year, and she has affirmed her commitment to improving financial aid for all Penn students.

In addition to creating named fellowships, which require a minimum gift of $100,000, alumni and friends can make a contribution at any level to the Graduate Fellowship Fund, which provides tuition, research and travel support for SAS graduate students. To learn more, contact Jody Brookman at 215-898-5262 or jody@sas.upenn.edu.

Ch’ien, who completed his doctorate in economics at Penn, is the executive chairman of Chinadotcom Corporation, chairman of the MTR Corporation Ltd., chairman of the Independent Commission Against Corruption’s Advisory Committee on Corruption and chairman of the Hong Kong/Japan Business Co-operation Committee. His wife, Hwee Leng Whang, G’75, and daughter, Zhong Jun Kay Ch’ien, C'02 W'02 L'06, are also Penn alumni.

PARTNERS Friends Indeed

As the only postdoctoral research institution devoted to all of Jewish civilization’s historical and cultural manifestations, the Center for Advanced Judaic Studies unites international scholars to explore a research theme from diverse viewpoints. This spirit of collaboration also extends to the center’s volunteers.

The relationship Ione Apfelbaum Strauss, CW’54, enjoys with CAJS as an adult learner, board member and chair since 2003 is a prime example. She recalls her first visit in 1994. “It was the passion and zeal of David Ruderman, who had just taken over as director of the center, that hooked me. He spoke of his dream of bringing first-rate scholars of all religions, nationalities and disciplines to Penn for a year of research. He wanted to establish a ‘learning community’… the only one of its kind in the world.”

Early on, Ruderman and the board faced many challenges, including linking to campus from 30 blocks away, building a relationship with the Jewish Studies Program and raising funds. They recruited volunteers, stabilized the finances and reached out to Penn and the community. Strauss attributes their success to Ruderman’s “unbelievable energy.” She says, “He goes all over the world lecturing and talking about the center. People are drawn to his ideas. Without him there would be no center.”

Ruderman, however, credits her. “It was a struggle for the first several years,” he says. “Anytime I wanted to quit, Ione encouraged me to keep going. The payoff is the incredible relationship we’ve developed. … As long as I’m involved with the center, I hope she’ll be there too.”

Ruderman, the Joseph Meyerhoff Professor of Modern Jewish History, values the board’s involvement in CAJS’s academic life. Members study with the fellows for two days each year and attend lectures and other activities. Strauss, who’s been a university trustee, SAS overseer and alumni society president, calls CAJS her “main priority at Penn.” She closely follows the fellows’ research and has taken part in educational trips to European sites of Jewish significance. She says CAJS has “enormous positive ramifications for the world” and hopes more people will get involved.

CAJS’s new friends program offers salons, lectures, courses, film screenings and a book club for Philadelphia-area residents. For information, visit http://www.cjs.upenn.edu/ or contact Elsie Stern at 215-238-1290 or erstern@sas.upenn.edu.