{{Short description|American educator (born 1930)}} {{redirect|Ruth Levy|German-American actress and writer|Ruth Landshoff}} {{Use American English|date=February 2026}} {{Use mdy dates|date=February 2024}} {{Infobox scientist | name = Ruth Gottesman | image = Ruth Gottesman receiving an award in 2026.jpg | birth_name = Ruth Levy | birth_date = {{birth year and age|1930}} | spouse = {{marriage|David Gottesman|1950|2022|end=d}} | children = 3 | education = {{ubl|Barnard College (BA)|Columbia University (MA, EdD)}} | workplaces = Albert Einstein College of Medicine | fields = Educational psychology }} '''Ruth Levy Gottesman''' (née '''Levy''', born 1930) is an American educator. Gottesman is the chair of the board of trustees of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine (AECOM) in the Bronx, New York, and a long-time professor there. In February 2024, she donated $1 billion to AECOM to ensure that tuition would be free in perpetuity to all future students.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/widow-unexpectedly-received-1-billion-011406117.html |title=A widow unexpectedly received $1 billion of Berkshire Hathaway stock. Now, she's covering Bronx med students' tuition forever |work=Business Insider |first=Grace Eliza |last=Goodwin |date=February 27, 2024 }}</ref>
==Career== Born Ruth Levy, Gottesman graduated from Friends School of Baltimore in 1948.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/2024/02/27/donation-einstein-medical-ruth-gottesman/|title=After $1B donation from former Baltimore resident, New York City medical school goes tuition-free|first=Dan|last=Belson|agency=Associated Press|work=The Baltimore Sun|date=February 27, 2024|accessdate=February 28, 2024}}</ref> Later that year, she enrolled at Mount Holyoke College.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://firstmanhattan.com/insights/nyt-david-gottesman-96-wall-st-power-and-warren-buffett-partner-dies|title=NYT: David Gottesman, 96, Wall St. Power and Warren Buffett Partner, Dies|website=First Manhattan}}</ref> She completed her bachelor's degree at Barnard College. Gottesman earned a master's degree in developmental education and a Doctor of Education in human cognition and learning in the area of educational psychology, both from Teachers College, Columbia University.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ruth L. Gottesman, Ed.D. |url=http://www.einstein.yu.edu/faculty/3527/ruth-gottesman/ |publisher=Albert Einstein College of Medicine |website=Faculty Profile |access-date=October 3, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129060821/http://www.einstein.yu.edu/faculty/3527/ruth-gottesman/ |archive-date=November 29, 2014 |location=web.archive.org |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=InPhil>{{cite web |url=https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2016/4/19/the-gottesmans-a-billionaire-family-that-supports-jewish-org.html |website=Inside Philanthropy |title=The Gottesmans: A Billionaire Family That Supports Jewish Organizations |last1=Adeniji |first1=Ade |access-date=October 3, 2022 |date=April 19, 2016}}</ref>
In 1968, Gottesman joined the Albert Einstein College of Medicine (AECOM) at the Children's Evaluation and Rehabilitation Center (CERC), where she developed widely used screening, evaluation, and treatment procedures for people with learning disabilities. In 1992, she founded the Adult Literacy Program at CERC, and in 1998, helped to found the Fisher Landau Center for the Treatment of Learning Disabilities.<ref name="FacProfEin">{{cite web |title=Faculty Profile – Ruth L. Gottesman, Ed.D. |url=https://einsteinmed.edu/faculty/3527/ruth-gottesman/ |website=Albert Einstein College of Medicine |access-date=February 26, 2024}}</ref> She is a professor emerita in the Department of Pediatrics (Developmental Medicine) and chair of the board of trustees at AECOM.<ref name="FacProfEin"/>
Gottesman joined AECOM's board of trustees in 2002 and served as chair of the board from 2007 until 2014.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.yu.edu/news/dr-ruth-gottesman-to-be-honored-as-new-board-chair-of-einstein-college-of-medicine-at-gala-dinner|title=Dr. Ruth Gottesman To Be Honored as New Board Chair of Einstein College of Medicine at Gala Dinner|website=Yeshiva University|date=May 10, 2024 }}</ref> Following the death of her successor as chair, Roger W. Einiger, in 2020, she once again became chair. She has also been a member of the Montefiore Health System board of trustees since 2007. The main Montefiore hospital serves as a teaching hospital for the Einstein Medical College.<ref name="FacProfEin"/>
==Personal life== She married David Gottesman in 1950.<ref name="NYT DGobit">{{cite news|title=David Gottesman, 96, Wall St. Power and Warren Buffett Partner, Dies|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/29/business/dealbook/david-s-gottesman-dead.html|first1=Robert D.|last1=Hershey|first2=Alex|last2=Traub|date=September 29, 2022|access-date=October 2, 2022|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> They met in 1948 before she began her studies at Mount Holyoke College and remained married for 72 years.<ref name="NYT DGobit"/><ref name=Cramer>{{cite news|title=David Gottesman, 96, Wall St. Power and Warren Buffett Partner, Dies|url=https://www.jta.org/2022/09/30/obituaries/david-gottesman-scion-of-jewish-philanthropic-dynasty-and-warren-buffett-partner-dies-at-96|first=Philissa|last=Cramer|date=September 30, 2022|access-date=October 2, 2022|publisher=Jewish Telegraphic Agency}}</ref> Together, they had three children. They lived in Rye, New York.<ref name="NYT DGobit"/> Forbes valued David's estate at $3 billion at the time of his death.<ref name="Forbes2">{{cite news |last1=Faguy |first1=Ana |title=Widow Of Billionaire David Gottesman Donates $1 Billion For Free Medical School Tuition |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/anafaguy/2024/02/26/widow-of-billionaire-david-gottesman-donates-1-billion-for-free-medical-school-tuition/?sh=6ac1c2cf2bd6 |access-date=February 26, 2024 |work=Forbes |date=February 26, 2024}}</ref>
== Philanthropy == With her husband David, she donated $25 million to the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in 2008, which was used to found the Ruth L. and David S. Gottesman Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Research, the Ruth L. Gottesman Clinical Skills Center, and the Faculty Scholar in Epigenetics at the College.<ref>{{cite web|date=May 14, 2008 | url=https://www.yu.edu/news/gottesmans-give-25-million-to-support-stem-cell-and-epigenomic-research-and-clinical-skills-training-at-medical-school | title=Gottesmans Give $25 Million to Support Stem Cell and Epigenomic Research and Clinical Skills Training at Medical School|publisher=Yeshiva University|access-date=March 30, 2024 }}</ref>
When David died in 2022, he bequeathed a portfolio of stock in Berkshire Hathaway to Ruth, with the instructions for her to do with it as she pleased. Gottesman, in February 2024, announced a $1 billion gift to AECOM to provide free tuition to all its students in perpetuity.<ref name="NYT26022024">{{cite news |last1=Goldstein |first1=Joseph |title=$1 Billion Donation Will Provide Free Tuition at a Bronx Medical School |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/26/nyregion/albert-einstein-college-medicine-bronx-donation.html |access-date=February 26, 2024 |work=The New York Times|date=February 26, 2024 |url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref name=guard>{{cite news |last=Oladipo |first=Gloria |date=February 26, 2024 |title=$1bn donation means students at New York medical school will pay no tuition |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/feb/26/tuition-free-medical-school-donation-ruth-gottesman-albert-einstein-new-york|location=New York|work=The Guardian |access-date=March 30, 2024}}</ref> The donation is the largest one in history given to a U.S. medical school.<ref name=guard/>
== Honors == Gottesman was named in the 2024 TIME100 Health, a "community of leaders from across industries—scientists, doctors, advocates, educators, and policy-makers, among others—dedicated to creating tangible, credible change for a healthier population."<ref>{{Cite magazine |title=TIME100 Health |url=https://time.com/collection/time100-health/ |access-date=2024-09-23 |magazine=TIME |language=en}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gottesman, Ruth}} Category:1930 births Category:20th-century American academics Category:20th-century American Jews Category:20th-century American psychologists Category:20th-century American women educators Category:20th-century American educators Category:20th-century American women scientists Category:21st-century American academics Category:21st-century American Jews Category:21st-century American philanthropists Category:21st-century American women philanthropists Category:21st-century American women academics Category:Albert Einstein College of Medicine faculty Category:American educational psychologists Category:American women philanthropists Category:American women psychologists Category:Barnard College alumni Category:Living people Category:Teachers College, Columbia University alumni