Honoree-
Pauline Modica

Pauline Modica studied natural science at the Brooklyn Campus, graduating with a B.S. in 1935. Despite difficult odds in a tight depression-era job market, Ms. Modica secured a position utilizing her science background; she worked as a lab technician at various hospitals in East New York. Ms. Modica then joined the National Starch Company as a chemist. After World War II ended, she decided to attend graduate school, earning an M.A. in education from New York University in 1950.

Soon after, Ms. Modica became a chemistry teacher at Boys High School in Brooklyn, eventually transferring to Abraham Lincoln High School (also in Brooklyn), where she remained until her retirement. In addition to fulfilling her classroom responsibilities, she managed to find time to work for her father’s construction and real estate business, negotiating contracts, keeping the books and selling real estate. Later, Ms. Modica furthered her real estate career, acquiring and managing property on her own. She is currently the director of the Charles and Jennie Modica Foundation, Inc.

Through the years, Ms. Modica’s ties to her undergraduate alma mater have remained strong. She established a charitable remainder trust that will provide scholarships for students at the Brooklyn Campus. When the trust ends, the proceeds will be added to the Charles and Jennie Modica Endowed Scholarship Fund, a fund she created in memory of her parents and as a legacy to their convictions about the importance of education. A member of the University’s Jonas Society, she has made charitable provisions to ensure that future generations of Long Island University students will have the opportunity to pursue a college education as she did.

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