The families of the 18 University alum who were victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, many of whom have children, now have a little less to worry about when it comes to the future.
- Paul Wong
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Jamie, Jill and Nicole Gartenberg were present at the University Board of Regents meeting Thursday.
TONY DING/Daily
In one of his last moves before his term expires, interim University
President B. Joseph White announced Thursday that the University will offer the children of those alum who died a full undergraduate scholarship if they choose to attend school here.
The scholarships will cover undergraduate tuition for the 11 children if they are accepted to the University under normal admissions procedures and maintain satisfactory progress.
The scholarships will be funded by non-General Fund presidential discretionary monies.
Jill Gartenberg, whose husband Jim worked for the firm Julien J.
Studley Inc. on the 86th floor of the World Trade Center’s North Tower, said her husband would have been proud of the program.
“He’d be so thrilled to know that the University was stepping up and doing something for the next generation,” Gartenberg said while standing with her two children, 3-year-old Nicole and 3-month-old Jamie.
Having graduated from the University with an economics degree in 1987, Jim Gartenberg was very involved as president of the New York chapter of the University Alumni Association for 12 years.
After he resigned from that position, he began serving on the National Advisory Committee for the University of Michigan Library and Task Force. Gartenberg said she and her husband had a strong love for the University.
“We both lead maize and blue. My husband committed many years to Michigan,” Gartenberg said.
White said he hopes the scholarship will “bring some comfort to their survivors and assurance that we too remember and cherish the memory of those whose lives were lost.”
White had dedicated his seven months as interim president to the friends and families of the University alumni killed September 11.
“I thought of nothing that my husband would have liked more than for his kids to go to his alma mater,” said Jill Goldstein, whose husband Steve graduated from the University in 1988, adding that her late husband thought of his time at the University as “an all-around great experience.”
“(He thought) it was a great education combined with a good social life and a feeling of belonging to something,” she said.
Gartenberg, speaking on behalf of those families said she was thankful for the University’s generosity and commitment to helping those who were affected by the September tragedies.
“The University couldn’t be more supportive than they are,” she said. “We thank you for reaching out to us.”