Yeshiva U.’s Medical College Gets $160-Million From Real-Estate Heir
By Caroline Bermudez
Contributor
April 21, 2013 | Read Time: 1 minute
How much: $160-million bequest
Who got it: Albert Einstein Medical College of Yeshiva University, in Bronx, N.Y.
Who gave it: Muriel Block, who along with her late husband, Harold, owned commercial real estate in Manhattan. She died in 2010 at the age of 95.
Where the money will go: Ms. Block stipulated that her gift support biomedical research at the college. Allen Spiegel, its dean, says $20-million will endow 10 professorships. Another portion, yet to be determined, will establish institutes on brain and clinical research named after the Blocks and a new research and administration building.
Donor’s previous giving: A donor to the medical college since the 1970s, Ms. Block donated a building in 2004 that was sold for $21-million to construct a research facility.
How the gift came about: Dr. Spiegel says that while he had been aware that Ms. Block was leaving a gift to the college, he had no idea of its size.
Impact of the gift: To further bolster the college’s reputation and that of its neighbors. “When you think of the Bronx, the first thing you think of isn’t outstanding research,” Dr. Spiegel says. He hopes that will change now.
