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The American Technion Society (ATS) has received a $5 million gift from the Weill Family Foundation and Joan and Sanford I. Weill.

The funds will be used to establish and support a Named Endowed Founder’s Chair at the Joan and Irwin Jacobs Technion-Cornell Institute, in perpetuity in the name of the Weill Family Foundation and Joan and Sanford I. Weill. The Jacobs Technion-Cornell Institute is a key component of Cornell Tech, the world-class applied sciences campus that opened in New York City in 2012. A 12-acre campus is currently being built on the city’s Roosevelt Island. The gift has a special significance, since Sanford Weill was instrumental in the historic collaboration between the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology and Cornell University from its formative stages.

“As a leading international center for technology innovation, the Jacobs Technion-Cornell Institute must make it a priority to attract and retain the very brightest minds,” said Sanford Weill. “We’re thrilled to provide this fund that will bring a senior academic scientist to be a part of this unique endeavor.”

The Weill Endowed Founder’s Chair will greatly enhance the intellectual climate at the Jacobs Institute by supporting the teaching and research activities of a full professor of international stature. It will also be a principal vehicle for ensuring that the Institute will be able to attract, retain and support the caliber of internationally renowned faculty members who will bolster its reputation, and attract talented young faculty and postdoctoral fellows eager to work with them.

“This is an important point in the international development of the Technion, and of the Jacobs Institute,” said Technion President Peretz Lavie. “We’re grateful for this gift that will enable the Institute to establish its position as a leader in technology innovation education.”

Sandy and Joan Weill are among Cornell University’s most generous and visionary philanthropists. Since their groundbreaking gift of $100 million in 1998, recognized by the naming Weill Cornell Medical College, their giving to the institution has risen to more than $600 million. Their most recent commitment, also at the $100 million level, was announced just one year ago to launch Weill Cornell’s Driving Discoveries, Changing Lives campaign and provide critical resources for biomedical research. The gift was recognized in many forms, including through the naming of the Weill Department of Medicine and the Weill Center for Metabolic Health. On Cornell’s Ithaca campus, the Weills have named Weill Hall, home to the Weill Institute for Cell and Molecular Biology. Mr. Weill is the chairman of Weill Cornell’s Board of Overseers and an Emeritus Trustee of Cornell University. He was the recipient of Cornell’s first Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 1984 and he is a member of the prestigious American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Joan and Sandy Weill also serve as Presidential Councilors at Cornell University.

The Joan and Irwin Jacobs Technion-Cornell Institute embodies the academic partnership between Cornell University and the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology at Cornell Tech. The Institute gets its name from Qualcomm’s Founder Irwin Jacobs and his wife Joan Klein Jacobs who gave a $133 million gift to Cornell and the Technion in 2013.

The Jacobs Institute promotes and leverages a synergy between its parent institutions to offer a global perspective on technology transfer, commercialization and entrepreneurship. The Institute is a home for experimentation at Cornell Tech, a sandbox-like environment focused on solving problems based on societal needs and making an impact on the New York City economy. Instead of traditional degree programs, the Institute has hubs that transcend disciplines and industries: Connective Media, Healthier Life and Built Environment.

The Technion-Israel Institute of Technology is a major source of the innovation and brainpower that drives the Israeli economy, and a key to Israel’s renown as the world’s “Start-Up Nation.” Its three Nobel Prize winners exemplify academic excellence. Technion people, ideas and inventions make immeasurable contributions to the world including life-saving medicine, sustainable energy, computer science, water conservation and nanotechnology.

American Technion Society (ATS) donors provide critical support for the Technion—more than $1.95 billion since its inception in 1940. Based in New York City, the ATS and its network of chapters across the U.S. provide funds for scholarships, fellowships, faculty recruitment and chairs, research, buildings, laboratories, classrooms and dormitories, and more.