The Richard H. Shindell Chair in Neuroscience

• Link to Star-Ledger coverage

Wise Young, a world authority on spinal cord injury and founding director of the W.M. Keck Center for Collaborative Neuroscience at Rutgers, was named the first holder of the Richard H. Shindell Chair in Neuroscience Oct. 30 at an investiture ceremony in Rutgers’ Kirkpatrick Chapel.

Shindell, a 1957 Rutgers College alumnus, donated $3 million to support the pursuit of a cure for spinal cord injury. The gift enabled the establishment of the endowed chair in the Division of Life Sciences. Before his retirement, Shindell was a vice president at T. Rowe Price, an investment management firm.

Young has served with distinction as the director of the W.M. Keck Center for Collaborative Neuroscience at Rutgers and as a professor of cell biology and neuroscience. He is also an articulate and passionate spokesperson on stem cell research, a potential source of nerve cell regeneration therapies for damaged spinal cord tissue.

At the investiture ceremony, Rutgers President Richard L. McCormick recounted the history of endowed chairs in academia over the centuries and, in introducing Shindell, cited both “the generosity of the donor and the brilliance of the recipient.”

Shindell told the investiture audience that he was deeply moved by the “Wall of Hope” at the Keck Center – photos of people with spinal cord injury. “The people pictured are an inspiration to all who work at this very special place, and I knew I had to do whatever I could to support this work,” Shindell said. “I left the Keck Center that day overwhelmed by my good fortune. I had been given the opportunity to further research that could someday be life-changing for millions of people.”

Of Young specifically, Shindell reprised a comment he had made at a fundraising event. “When we observe his science, when we feel his love, when we experience his teaching, and we understand his caring, how can any of us give any less than our fullest support?”

Rutgers Life and Health Sciences Vice President Ken Breslauer introduced Wise Young at the ceremony as “a prophet, a pioneer, and the heart and soul of the spinal cord injury community.”

In thanking Shindell, Young explained that, “We do science not for science’s sake, but for the people who benefit from it. What we do must go beyond the walls of the laboratory and Rutgers gave me the gift of freedom to create a center for the people for whom the work is being done.”

As a Rutgers undergraduate, Shindell pursued studies in economics and participated in the Rutgers Glee Club. Since graduation, Shindell has been a member of the Rutgers Alumni Association, and through financial donations has supported other university activities, including the Glee Club and the Rutgers athletic department.

Shindell is a member of the Leadership Council of the Mason Gross School of the Arts and formerly served as a member of the board of directors of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and chaired the orchestra’s governing members group.