Shirley Katz Cohen (of blessed memory): Investing In the Future

As a high school math teacher in New York City, Shirley Katz Cohen was committed to encouraging talented young people — particularly young women.

During a reunion, a former student reminded her of a conversation they'd had decades earlier: "You told me that I must go into science or medicine because we need more women in that area."

A gifted student herself, Shirley had benefited from similar guidance and mentorship. When she was 3, her father passed away — leaving her mother a widow at the age of 39. Although money was scarce, Shirley and her four siblings learned that education was the pathway to self-improvement and upward mobility. As a 16-year-old freshman at Hunter College, City University of New York, her intelligence quickly caught the attention of the faculty.

"My math professor tapped me on the shoulder and asked, 'Shirley, what are you going to study?' " she recalled. "When I didn't have an answer, he said, 'I think you should major in math.' "

Shirley took the advice, completing her undergraduate degree in mathematics. She later earned her master's in education at Teachers College, Columbia University.

Now retired after an esteemed 35-year teaching career, Shirley continues to support the advancement of science and mathematics, science education, and women in science through her charitable gift annuity at the Weizmann Institute.

"The Weizmann Institute is making an important difference — for the benefit of humanity," she said. "My charitable gift annuity allows me to support the Institute's innovative work while receiving income for life."

Shirley and her late husband Martin established their first gift annuity in 2003, after a friend asked them to host a Weizmann scientist in their home. The couple decided to make a meaningful gift to the Institute.

"The Weizmann Institute was one of the first organizations to which I gave," she explained. "It was a nice beginning, but I knew it was not the end of my support or involvement."

The following year, she had the opportunity to see the Institute's vital work firsthand during a visit to the campus in Israel. She toured the Department of Mathematics as well as several laboratories in the life sciences. "The whole thing was so exciting," she said. "The Institute's research encompasses every part of a person's life, from fighting malignancies to improving vision. It's the real stuff."

Shirley was moved by Weizmann scientists' determination to follow their curiosity — and to uncover solutions to humankind's most difficult problems. "There's nothing like having a passion of that ilk," she commented.

Inspired to deepen their commitment, she and Martin continued to support the Institute. After Martin passed away in 2006, Shirley began thinking further about her own legacy. "I come from a family where we were never self-serving," she said. "Our purpose was to make this a better world to live in."

Through additional planned gifts to the Institute, she hopes to establish a fund for mathematics research — with a focus on supporting promising young leaders in the field.

Recalling her own journey as a student and educator, she believes there is no better way to safeguard the future than to nurture bright young minds — particularly in the sciences: "It's the only risk-free investment."