Joan and Sanford Weill, Dean Antonio Gotto (left), and Cornell President Hunter Rawlings (center) with the portrait presented at the reception. The portrait has been hung in the Medical College lobby at 1300 York Ave.
A portrait honoring Joan and Sanford Weill for their extraordinary commitment to Cornell University and the Medical College was presented on Oct. 1 at the annual reception of the Board of Overseers—and now hangs in the entrance of the Medical College at 1300 York Ave.
In their remarks at the reception, Cornell University President Hunter Rawlings and Dean Antonio Gotto acknowledged the unparalleled dedication to the advancement of medical research and education at Cornell that Joan and Sanford Weill have demonstrated through their philanthropic leadership.
In 1998, the Weills pledged $100 million to the Medical College's capital campaign to support the Strategic Plan for Research. The gift, which came in the school's centennial year, is the largest single philanthropic commitment in the history of Cornell University. Through the Strategic Plan for Research, Weill Cornell has launched major initiatives to expand research in structural biology, genetic medicine, and neuroscience—the three most significant and promising areas of biomedical research in the new century.
The Weills also provided the lead gift that spearheaded the establishment of the Medical College's state-of-the-art Weill Education Center, which opened in 1996. The Weill Education Center has provided critical support for the design of an innovative new curriculum for medical education at Cornell that has become a model for medical education nationally and internationally.
In recognition of the Weills' support of the Medical College, Cornell University named the Medical College and the Graduate School of Medical Sciences in their honor in 1998: the Joan and Sanford I. Weill Medical College and Graduate School of Medical Sciences of Cornell University.
An alumnus and trustee emeritus of Cornell University, Sanford Weill has achieved legendary success in the business world. Currently chairman and C.E.O. of Citigroup, he has also held the top positions at Travelers Group, Commercial Credit Company and Shearson/American Express. He joined the Medical College's Board of Overseers in 1982 and became board chairman in 1995. He has played a leading role in the initiative to establish another location of the Medical College in Qatar, to be known as the Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar. The new location, which will uphold the same admissions and academic standards as the Medical College in New York, plans to admit its first class in 2004.
Joan Weill has been active at the NewYork Weill Cornell Medical Center as co-chair of the annual Women's Health Symposium and through her involvement with the Executive Committee of the Lying-In Hospital, an advocacy group for the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
Joan and Sanford Weill have also been generous supporters of many other charitable, civic and cultural organizations in New York City.