Dr. Theresa Rohr-Kirchgraber (M.D. ’88) and Dr. Paul Kirchgraber (M.D. ’88)
Dr. Theresa Rohr-Kirchgraber (M.D. ’88) and her husband, Dr. Paul Kirchgraber (M.D. ’88), met at Weill Cornell Medicine as medical students in the 1980s. Both recipients of scholarships to support their education, their early experiences laid the foundation for a lifetime of achievements and, decades later, the chance to support the next generation of promising students.
The couple recently established a generous planned gift to endow a Weill Cornell Medicine scholarship fund – assuring that future generations of students benefit from the same elite medical education they received. The Kirchgrabers were drawn to making a $50,000 pledge, along with creating a six-figure planned gift because it enables them to create a lasting legacy without impacting their financial security today.
“We’ve come to a point in our careers where we’re able to focus on others,” says Dr. Kirchgraber, a retired pharmaceutical executive who, like his wife, teaches at the AU/UGA Medical Partnership, a medical school jointly run by the University of Georgia and Augusta University. “We were both beneficiaries of grants and scholarships, which made a huge difference to us when we were attending Weill Cornell Medicine, and we are very grateful to the donors who helped us.”
For Dr. Rohr-Kirchgraber, the decision to attend Weill Cornell Medicine was eased by her scholarship package. A California native, she was all set to go to a state medical school near her home when she realized that Weill Cornell Medicine’s generous financial aid reduced the cost to about the same as the public option.
Dr. Rohr-Kirchgraber, the daughter of a construction worker and a stay-at-home mom, was the first in her family to attend college and medical school. She is now a practicing internist and professor of medicine at the AU/UGA Medical Partnership, which is seeking accreditation to become the independent University of Georgia School of Medicine The couple recently established a generous planned gift to endow a Weill Cornell Medicine scholarship fund – assuring that future generations of students benefit from the same elite medical education they received. The Kirchgrabers were drawn to making a $50,000 pledge, along with creating a six-figure planned gift because it enables them to create a lasting legacy without impacting their financial security today.
“We’ve come to a point in our careers where we’re able to focus on others,” says Dr. Kirchgraber, a retired pharmaceutical executive who, like his wife, teaches at the AU/UGA Medical Partnership, a medical school jointly run by the University of Georgia and Augusta University. “We were both beneficiaries of grants and scholarships, which made a huge difference to us when we were attending Weill Cornell Medicine, and we are very grateful to the donors who helped us.”
For Dr. Rohr-Kirchgraber, the decision to attend Weill Cornell Medicine was eased by her scholarship package. A California native, she was all set to go to a state medical school near her home when she realized that Weill Cornell Medicine’s generous financial aid reduced the cost to about the same as the public option.
Dr. Rohr-Kirchgraber, the daughter of a construction worker and a stay-at-home mom, was the first in her family to attend college and medical school. She is now a practicing internist and professor of medicine at the AU/UGA Medical Partnership, which is seeking accreditation to become the independent University of Georgia School of Medicine.
Back in 1984, Paul Kirchgraber, a student at Manhattan University in the Bronx, knew he wanted to become a doctor but was also concerned about the cost. Generous financial aid from Weill Cornell Medicine helped him afford four years of school and the expense of living on the Upper East Side, close to campus.
The couple took the same classes, got to know one another and fell in love. They married after graduation and later raised three children.
“Weill Cornell Medicine provided a special experience for us at a very important time in our lives,” says Dr. Rohr-Kirchgraber. “We learned how to become thorough, expert physicians, and we learned that medicine has global implications. In fact, Weill Cornell Medicine funding helped me study in Peru during my fourth year.”
Years later, the two physicians remain active alumni and serve in leadership roles on the board of the Weill Cornell Medical College Alumni Association, and on its Student Engagement Committee. Dr Rohr-Kirchgraber also serves on the board’s Awards Selection Committee.
“We believe that supporting medical education is important if you have the resources and are looking for a way to impact society,” says Dr. Kirchgraber. “Weill Cornell Medicine, through its educational, clinical and research mission, has such a profound global reach. We are grateful to help the next generation succeed in their careers as physicians, researchers or in industry.”
