Profiles in Giving

Dr. Mark Horwich DC '63, DMS '65: A Tradition of Giving

Dr. Mark Horwich

"My father was a successful, self-made man," says neurologist Dr. Mark Horwich of his father, Herman Horwich. "He only went to school through the eighth grade, but he was quite an entrepreneur and a shrewd businessman."

While the elder Horwich may have hoped his son would go into the family business, his son had dreams of becoming a doctor. "I always admired the doctors I had known, and had a desire to help people and listen to them," Dr. Horwich says. "Both of my parents were always very supportive of me and they thought my going into medicine was a wonderful idea."

Although Dr. Horwich recalls his first year at DMS as "pretty tough," he excelled in his studies and formed close friendships with his classmates. He also admired many of his professors, most notably Dr. Herbert Borison, his pharmacology professor, and Dr. Harry Savage, professor of anatomy, whom he remembers as "wonderful, very positive and encouraging of not only me, but everyone in the class."

Dr. Horwich completed his MD at Harvard, and went on to a gratifying career as a neurologist, not only caring for patients but also teaching medical students and residents at Cornell Medical College. For the past decade, Dr. Horwich has focused completely on patient care, having left Cornell with four colleagues to open a neurology and neurosurgery practice.

To honor their son's medical education and career, Herman and Ethel Horwich established The Herman and Ethel Horwich Scholarship Fund at DMS in 1979. Thanks to the ongoing generosity of Dr. Horwich and his family over the years, the fund has grown to over $4 million and has benefited over DMS 160 students.

Recently, Dr. Horwich met some of those students at the second annual Celebrating Our Scholars, an evening dedicated to bringing DMS scholarship students together with the donors whose generosity is helping fund their medical education. "This is the third time I've had the opportunity to meet some of the students," Dr. Horwich notes. "I enjoy receiving their letters every year, but it's great to see them and talk with them in person, and to hear about their goals."

Although he didn't go into the family business, Dr. Horwich is continuing his family's tradition of giving to DMS. In addition to supporting the Horwich Fund, Dr. Horwich also makes annual gifts to the Fund for DMS, which provides the fiscal flexibility the medical school needs to seize opportunities and provide future physicians and scientists with the best training possible. "I want DMS to continue to excel and be recognized as one of the top medical schools in the country, which I believe it to be," Dr. Horwich says.

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