Rutgers Creates the Rodkin-Weintraub Chair in Engineering

A gift of $1.5 million has created the Rodkin-Weintraub Chair in Engineering, designed to honor, retain and recruit eminent scholars in the field of engineering, while recognizing innovative and intellectual work. Gary M. RC’74 and Barbara DC’76 Rodkin have provided the funding in honor of their engineer fathers.

The Board of Governors approved the creation of the endowed chair today. The chair recognizes the accomplishments of the couple’s fathers, Dennis L. Rodkin ENG’58, who earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering at Rutgers, and Leon Weintraub, who earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering at New York University.

These funds will match the $1.5 million provided by an anonymous donor who pledged to provide matching gifts to created 18 endowed chairs at Rutgers.

With lifetime giving to Rutgers of $24.5 million, the Rodkins are among Rutgers’ most generous supporters, creating extraordinary impact for the university’s students and faculty over many years. In addition to their gift endowing the Rodkin-Weintraub Chair in Engineering, the Rodkins recently committed $15 million – the largest-ever gift for Rutgers Athletics – to support the academic achievement of Rutgers’ 650 student-athletes through the construction of the Gary and Barbara Rodkin Center for Academic Success.

Among their other philanthropic efforts at Rutgers, they have pledged $2 million to the Honors College at Rutgers-New Brunswick; supported Douglass Residential College’s international service-learning program through its Global Village; and established a summer science research program for undergraduate women through the Douglass Project for Rutgers Women in Math, Science, and Engineering. The couple and their foundation also have given to the Rutgers Future Scholars program, which provides low-income middle school and high school students a path to college.