The Selma Ruben Conference Center at the Weill Greenberg Center was dedicated on April 24, 2007, and was attended by a gathering of family, friends, faculty and senior Weill Cornell Medical College administration. The new facility was made possible by a $6 million pledge from the Lawrence Ruben Foundation and Dean's Challenge matching funds in support of the Weill Greenberg Center. The gift was made in memory of Mr. Ruben's late wife, Selma, who was a longstanding benefactor of the Medical College and sister to Robert Belfer, who has served on Weill Cornell's Board of Overseers for 17 years.
"We have been looking forward with great excitement to the opening of the Selma Ruben Conference Center, a state-of-the-art meeting facility and the first and only conference center on the Weill Cornell campus," said Dr. Antonio M. Gotto, dean of Weill Cornell Medical College.
Attending the dedication of the Selma Ruben Conference Center on April 24 were (from left) Lawrence Ruben and his children, Lenore, Richard and Shelly (Ruben) Kivell.
Located on the second floor of the Weill Greenberg Center, the Selma Ruben Conference Center will host multiple medical, educational, scientific, academic and other professional meetings for both public and private audiences. The new facility may accommodate up to 90 people in one, two or three simultaneous meetings, and serves as the hub for inter- and intra-campus communications with its state-of-the-art equipment and design, fostering additional collaborations and helping to build on the productivity of Weill Cornell's renowned physician-scientists. Such flexibility will enable the Medical College to host large symposia, conventions or summits.
The conference center is a continuation of more than 20 years of Belfer/Ruben family philanthropy, beginning with Arthur and Rochelle Belfer and extending now to the third generation. The family has already funded the world-class Belfer Gene Therapy Core Facility along with three professorships, and has supported programs as diverse as anti-bioterrorism, breast cancer research, brain tumor and epilepsy research, child development, glaucoma, in vitro fertilization, teen pregnancy prevention, women's health, and women's sexuality research and treatment.
In addition, the Ruben children (Shelly and Howard Kivell, Richard and Amy Ruben and Lenore Ruben) recently honored their mother by funding the new Selma Ruben Reception Area in the Department of Genetic Medicine, also located in the Weill Greenberg Center.
"I'm delighted to make this gift in honor of Selma," said Lawrence Ruben. "I'm sure she would have been thrilled with this wonderful state-of-the-art facility where ideas will be shared, collaborations made, and imaginations fired."