Edward GershMr. Gersh never would have gone to NYU if it hadn't been for his football scholarship. Now he's one of NYU's biggest donors.
When Edward Gersh (Steinhardt '43, '50) was a student in the 1940s, it was a scholarship that made NYU a possibility for him. More than sixty years later, Gersh is showing his gratitude by supporting a permanent scholarship to benefit current and future NYU students.
Gersh first established the Edward Gersh Permanent Scholarship Fund at the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development in 2005. To dramatically increase the number of students who will benefit, he recently named NYU as the ultimate beneficiary of a charitable remainder trust, which will provide him with income during his lifetime.
A native of the Bronx, Gersh was awarded two full football scholarships when he applied to college-one to NYU and one to George Washington University. "I chose George Washington," Gersh admitted. By the end of his first semester, he realized he had made a mistake and asked NYU if his scholarship offer was still on the table.
"NYU offered to give me a scholarship if I went out to prove myself to the team," he said. "My whole future depended on how I performed in scrimmage, and I was a demon. They put me on the second team right away."
Unfortunately, fate intervened, and a serious knee injury sidelined Gersh after his first collegiate football match. "I couldn't play football anymore, but NYU continued my scholarship," he said...
Today, his wife, Holli, and he own four homes, three in New York and one in Florida. Now 88, Gersh said he is indebted to NYU for the generosity that made his achievements possible.
"If NYU had never continued my scholarship, I never would have achieved the lifestyle I'm living now," Gersh said...
I'd be interested in knowing how he feels about NYU not having a football team. Could he be one of the rallying voices we need to make this happen?
No comments:
Post a Comment