Dr. Mary and Bart Cohen

For more information, contact Darnell Holopirek, 620-792-9367.

October 24, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Story by: Linda Dueser

Cohens Named Benefactors for Their Gifts to Barton County Community College
 
Dr. Mary Davidson Cohen and her late husband, Bart Cohen, have been named recipients of the 2007 Benefactor of the Year Award by the Council for Resource Development.

In the year before Bart’s death in December 2006, the Leawood couple donated their extensive collection of Kansas history books to Barton County Community College and funded construction of the 620-square-foot Cohen Center for Kansas History, an addition to Barton’s library, for housing the collection. Their gift became the inspiration for the renovation of the college’s library, a project to which the Cohens gave considerable support.

Dr. Cohen will accept the award at a banquet Nov. 2 in Washington, D.C. Barton President Dr. Carl Heilman will present the award. Also representing Barton at the award presentation in Washington, D.C., will be Darnell Holopirek, executive director of institutional advancement; and BCCC Foundation board members Angie Fry, chair; Megan Murphy, past chair; Rob Dove, former chair, and his wife, Trisha.

The Cohens’ award will be one of 10 benefactor awards presented at the banquet to individuals, companies and charitable foundations from Massachusetts to Washington State.
The 10 honorees have contributed more than $50 million to community colleges in the United States. They were selected from nominations representing donors who support nearly 1,200 community colleges nationwide. Their gifts support programs as diverse as nursing, libraries, business education and workforce development.

The honored donors contribute to endowments, scholarship funds and the individual success of hundreds of students. They have expanded campuses and created colleges, and they have been an inspiration for others.

The Council for Resource Development, representing 1,600 members in more than 700 two-year colleges, is an affiliate of the American Association of Community Colleges. CRD supports professionals and develops leaders engaged in community college resource development through education, advocacy and mentoring.