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A Genius Gift

“The indebtedness I feel to the University of Rochester cannot truly be repaid. This gift is an expression for the life-changing education I benefited from as a medical student at Rochester.”
—Gary Berger ’69M (MD)

Gary Berger is an avid admirer of Albert Einstein. A few years ago he was fortunate enough to acquire a manuscript of more than 100 pages of Einstein’s private working papers that had never been seen by the public. After considerable thought, Berger decided to sell the pages and several letters of historical importance. He took comfort in knowing the materials are now in an important archive and available to Einstein scholars. 

Berger was moved to give the proceeds from the manuscript to the University of Rochester to fund an endowed professorship in medical education. Dr. Berger and his wife Barbara utilized a flexible deferred charitable gift annuity to make their gift. This allows them to choose a date in the future to begin receiving income. The longer they postpone, the better the rate and the higher their income. Once they are ready to receive the income, they lock in the rate which remains fixed for their lifetimes. A portion of the income is tax-free which is an added benefit.