Honorees-
Marie & Arnold Schwartz

The late Arnold Schwartz was one of five brothers who emigrated to the United States from Romania with their parents, Samuel and Lena Schwartz, during the early part of the century. At a young age, he and his siblings founded the Paragon Oil Company, which grew to become one of the largest distributors of fuel oil to homes and industry in New York City. During the late 1960s, the company was sold to Texaco, Inc. Revenue realized from this sale established the Arnold & Marie Schwartz Fund for Health Education, initiating the financial support of a broad range of educational, humanitarian and social programs. Mr. Schwartz served on Long Island University’s board of trustees and was a member of the College of Pharmacy’s Council of Overseers. He received an honorary degree from the College of Pharmacy in 1978. Mr. Schwartz also served on the board of trustees of the Sloan-Kettering Institute. He was for many years president of Brookdale Hospital Medical Center and guided its growth from a 200-bed hospital to a 1,000-bed medical center. Mr. Schwartz was also a trustee of New York University Medical Center. He was director of the Hebrew Hospital for the Chronic Sick, Bronx, New York; a founder of the Mount Sinai Medical Center, Miami Beach, Florida; a sponsor of the Mount Sinai Hospital, New York; and a founder of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York. He died in 1979.

A native of Atlanta, Marie Schwartz spent 16 years as an award-winning staff writer for The Washington Post, covering the White House during the Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon administrations. A past president of the American Newspaper Women’s Club, Mrs. Schwartz has received many awards for her writing and is the author of several books including “Entertaining in the White House” and “The President’s Lady: an Intimate Biography of Mrs. Lyndon B. Johnson.” She is a past member of the boards of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and Eisenhower College and was a Nixon appointee to the President’s Advisory Committee to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. A longtime trustee of New York University, she too served as a member of the Long Island University board of trustees and as a member of the College of Pharmacy’s Council of Overseers. Mrs. Schwartz is also a trustee of the New York Botanical Gardens.

In addition to the dedication of her financial resources, Mrs. Schwartz has given generously of her time, by organizing a lecture series featuring Nobel Laureates and playing an instrumental role aiding the College of Pharmacy in developing clinical affiliations with New York hospitals. Her many honors include the Albert Gallatin Medal of New York University, honorary membership in the American Pharmaceutical Association and two honorary doctorates from Long Island University, the first from the Brooklyn Campus in 1976, the second from the College of Pharmacy in 1998. Mrs. Schwartz currently resides in Greenwich, Connecticut and in Palm Beach, Florida.

Although they each enjoyed highly successful separate careers, the couple shared a passion for making the world a better place through their common philanthropic interests. They devoted their lives and fortunes to benefit the education of pharmacists and health professionals. In recognition of their generous contributions, the Brooklyn College of Pharmacy was renamed the Arnold & Marie Schwartz College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. Their donations also have made possible the completion of numerous projects on the Brooklyn Campus including the renovation of the Humanities Building, additions to the Library Learning Center, the establishment of the Chapel, the creation of the lecture hall in the William Zeckendorf Health Sciences Center and program enhancements for the Drug Information Center and the Retail Drug Institute. Pharmacy and nursing students also have benefited through scholarships funded by the couple’s gifts.

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