When Nancy Berman ’97H remembers her parents, Philip ’69H and Muriel ’91H Berman, she describes them as a “dynamic duo” with a great passion for Lehigh. It’s a passion she shares.
“They were people with intense curiosity, boundless energy, and genuine enthusiasm for people, ideas, and projects,” recalls Berman, president and executive director of the Los Angeles-based Philip and Muriel Berman Foundation. “They impacted innumerable lives, landscapes, and institutions.”
Lehigh is one of the institutions transformed by their philanthropy. As the Berman Center for Jewish Studies marks its 40th anniversary this year, their legacy at the university is affirmed. In 1984, the Bermans made the founding gift for what was then the Lehigh Valley Center for Jewish Studies. In 1989, it was renamed for the Bermans, who established an endowment to support it. Philip Berman had seen similar centers in larger cities and wanted his community to have such a resource.
Berman says her parents supported Lehigh because they found a partner open to innovation and ideas.
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