[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 40 (Wednesday, March 7, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E271]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 IN RECOGNITION OF SANFORD AND JOAN WEILL ON THE OCCASION OF THE 20TH 
 ANNIVERSARY OF THE RENAMING OF WEILL CORNELL MEDICAL SCHOOL IN THEIR 
                                 HONOR

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. CAROLYN B. MALONEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, March 7, 2018

  Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay 
tribute to Sanford and Joan Weill as we mark the 20th anniversary of 
the renaming of Weill Cornell Medical School in their honor. The Weills 
are renowned for their extraordinary philanthropic contributions to 
culture, education and medical research.
  Mr. and Ms. Weill are Brooklyn natives who grew up in modest 
circumstances, and worked hard to make a better life for themselves and 
their family. Mr. Weill started out as a $30-a-week runner at Bear 
Stearns, while Ms. Weill worked as a teacher to help them make ends 
meet. Wanting more, in 1960, he and his partners founded their own 
investment firm. The firm was eventually sold to American Express and 
Mr. Weill became President of American Express. He left American 
Express and started acquiring financial services companies, until he 
created the financial giant now known as Citicorp.
  Throughout their lives, Mr. and Ms. Weill have been incredibly 
generous supporters of many of the institutions and organizations that 
are central to New York. They founded the National Academy Foundation, 
a foundation that partners with schools in underserved communities to 
connect them with specialized training programs and internships in 
finance, STEM, and hospitality & tourism. Inaugurated with one pilot 
finance academy in the heart of Brooklyn, the foundation has now grown 
to 675 academies in over 36 states and serves approximately 100,000 
children a year.
  The Weills have played a key role in our cultural institutions. Mr. 
Weill served for many years on the board of Carnegie Hall, and helped 
shepherd it through a major renovation. Thanks to their generosity, one 
of the three performance halls is named the Joan and Sanford I. Weill 
Recital Hall. A devotee of modern dance, Ms. Weill served on the board 
of the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater for 20 years, 14 as Chair. At her 
retirement celebration, more than $40 million was raised in her honor, 
capping off an eminent career and enabling the company to expand its 
building.
  More impressive still is the enormous impact Sanford and Joan Weill 
have had on medical education. Mr. Weill was a longtime Trustee of 
Cornell University and became Chairman of their medical school. In 
1998, the Weills gave $100 million to the medical school, prompting the 
school leaders to rename the institution Weill Cornell Medical College. 
Since then, the couple has generously given over $600 million to the 
school, helping to ensure its legacy as one of the premier medical 
institutions in the world.
  In 2001, I had the pleasure of helping to midwife the creation of a 
medical school in Qatar. I brought Qatar's interest in having a school 
that offers an American medical degree to the attention of Mr. Weill 
and he helped make it happen. Thanks to his vision, Cornell University 
is the only institution to offer its MD degree outside the country. The 
Weills also made possible the Weill Bugando University College of 
Health Sciences in Tanzania. I am proud that Cornell University 
accepted the challenge of creating an applied sciences school on 
Roosevelt Island and I was pleased to join the Weills to break ground 
on Cornell Tech which opened its doors September 12, 2017.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring Sanford and 
Joan Weill, the very embodiment of the American dream.

                          ____________________