From front left to right are Neureiter family members Elizabeth Neureiter-Seely, Norman Neureiter and Georgine Reid Neureiter. Behind them are SUNY Geneseo Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Stacey Robertson, and SUNY Geneseo President Denise A. Battles.
GENESEO, N.Y. - A family with ties to Geneseo for 80 years has made a major gift to the College. The Neureiters’ connection to Geneseo as well as their experiences studying and working abroad have transformed their lives, and they want students to have similar opportunities.
Norman Neureiter, his spouse, Georgine Reid Neureiter, and his sister, Elizabeth Neureiter-Seely, have established the Neureiter Family Endowment Fund for Global Awareness and Intercultural Understanding to support Geneseo students. Their gift will provide need-based scholarships to help support students who are passionate about wanting to study abroad for at least one semester.
“Students who study abroad will have a life-changing experience, bringing a great richness to their lives, and leading to meaningful and fulfilling career paths so vitally needed in today's complex and challenging world,” said the Neureiter family in a statement.
The Neureiters’ ties to the College began in 1937, when Norman and Elizabeth’s father, Paul Neureiter, joined the mathematics faculty. He was a professor at Geneseo until 1965 and played an integral role in the development of many departments. He widely supported international exchange programs, saying such programs will “help create a world consciousness.”
His son and daughter acted on that belief, having studied and traveled abroad. Ultimately, it inspired their careers. Norman Neureiter’s life’s work for the pursuit of international cooperation for the advancement of science, technology, peace, and global security was ignited through a Fulbright Fellowship. This led to a distinguished career serving the United States as the first science technology advisor to the U.S. Secretary of State, as Distinguished Presidential Fellow for International Affairs at the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, and as director of the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s Center for Science, Technology and Security Policy.
Georgine Reid Neureiter’s passion for global awareness and intercultural understanding began early. She had a desire for travel abroad, and worked for Radio Free Europe in Munich. She and Norman later lived in four different countries.
Elizabeth Neureiter-Seely’s life was transformed as a high school student when her father was on a Fulbright Fellowship in the Netherlands. She attended a Dutch school there, through which her passion for languages was kindled, leading to a teaching career in the United States and Germany and later as professor of German, and ultimately professor of English for speakers of other languages at SUNY Monroe Community College.
Sarah Lambert '19 and Macie Shum '19 were recently named as the first recipients of the scholarship. Geneseo has international partnerships with 60 different programs in 39 countries. Nearly 40 percent of Geneseo students study abroad before they graduate. Dependent upon location, the gap between a year's study on campus and a semester studying abroad can be up to $5,000 per student. The Neureiter gift will make significant impact on students' ability to participate.