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Joel Cohen
Joel Cohen
Joel B. Cohen graduated from the Drexel School of Business Administration (now known as LeBow College of Business) in 1954. But when he talks about what made his experience special, you might think that his college years were recent. He can name specific Drexel professors who took a personal interest in his studies and career options, and they are his role models — even today. "When a teacher talks one-on-one to you, and shows concern for your future, that makes a tremendous impression," he says.
As a result, Joel is determined not only to give back, but to make a distinctive mark on his alma mater. He wants his passion for global learning, peer tutoring and scholarships to shape his legacy. That is why he and his wife Margaret ("Peggy") chose to include Drexel in their will. They had made substantial gifts to LeBow previously, but planned giving offered them even more control over their ultimate philanthropic impact.
The largest portion of the Cohens' bequest to LeBow College will continue their pivotal role in the LeBow Global Business Classroom Leadership Program. The couple also established the Peggy and Joel Cohen Endowed Scholarship Fund to ensure that deserving students who need some help to attend the College will receive that boost. In addition, they have created the Joel B. Cohen Peer Tutoring Program Endowed Fund and the Joel B. Cohen Endowed Fund for Graduate Student Career Services at LeBow.
Joel still runs the highly successful custom packaging company he started 46 years ago, but he sums up his philosophy about achievement as: "He climbs highest who helps another up." Giving that hand-up — whether through scholarships, tutoring, career services or creating supportive community — brings tremendous satisfaction to the Cohens.
Why the emphasis on global learning? "After I graduated," Joel reflects, "I traveled in Europe and the Far East. It started my thinking about all the students from other countries who come to Drexel and might be worried that they won't do well or make friends. Once, standing in the General Assembly at the United Nations, I asked myself: —What could I do to help these international students feel at home at Drexel and allay their fears about all the things they don't understand?'"
His answer was to jumpstart the Global Business Classroom Leadership Program with an initial gift in 2012. A close-knit, welcoming community quickly blossomed. Here, LeBow students from around the world live, study and grow together, along with a few U.S. undergraduates who seek dynamic interactions with widely diverse fellow students. Joel adds proudly that the Global Classroom members also "visit our nation's capital, see Congress in action and our national monuments, and this exposure helps them understand what makes America great."
As a former chairman and emeritus member of the Drexel Alumni Board of Governors, Joel comes back to campus often and he loves what he sees in the Global Classroom. "They are just so excited about the friendships they form that last a lifetime," he reports. "When students are away from home for the first time and forming their characters, it's a tremendous benefit for them to learn that everyone has the same anxieties they do, and to understand the many cultures represented in the group."
Both Joel and Peggy feel very close to the students who've gone through the program, now in its fourth year. "We didn't even know if Global Classroom would work when we started!" he exclaims, "but now I know it's working because students tell me how grateful they are."
The joy that Joel continues to feel from his Drexel connections and his impact on young people's lives shows that he truly has "climbed highest."