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After the deaths of Syracuse University alumni Stanley and Cecilia Katz, their family has donated $2 million to SU’s Forever Orange campaign, according to an SU News release.

The gift will support two funds in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs.  The Birkhead-Burkhead Endowed Fund for student Financial Assistance will be used for scholarships and fellowships for SU graduate students. The family also contributed to The Melvin Eggers Graduate Economics Scholarship for SU graduate students pursuing doctoral degrees in economics.

Forever Orange is SU’s $1.5 billion capital campaign, launched in November 2019. University leaders have said the campaign is on track to surpass the $1 billion mark by late spring or early summer. 

Cecilia Katz and Stanley Katz met at SU, their son Mitch Katz said. Mitch Katz graduated from SU in 1988.

Cecilia Katz died in May 2017 and Stanley Katz on Nov. 10, 2020. Mitch Katz described the impact of the Maxwell school on his parents.

“My dad always recalled Professor Eggers starting his first economics class by ripping up a $1 dollar bill,” Mitch said in the release. “This wasn’t that long after the Depression! As students were stunned by the audacity, Professor Eggers proceeded to explain what made this piece of paper such a powerful store of value.”

After graduating from SU, Cecilia and Stanley Katz moved to Washington D.C., where Stanley worked in the U.S. Bureau of the Budget. He later worked at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in Paris, the World Bank, the U.S. Department of Commerce, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Manila, Philippines, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in London.

“My folks were proud of the Maxwell School’s mission of educating students about their responsibilities as citizens of the world and directing them to use their talents and success to provide opportunities to others,” Mitch Katz said. 

 

Published on April 8, 2021 at 7:47 pm

Contact Kailey: kmnorusi@syr.edu