Remembering Saul Cohen

Saul (Bud) Cohen, second President of JBFCS, died this past winter at age of 65. Bud Cohen was a man who represented the best in all aspects of life. He had an unwavering dedication to serving the community and people in need. His active involvement in many philanthropic endeavors enriched the lives of New York's families and children.

Bud Cohen had a longstanding commitment to JBFCS, He was President of the Jewish Board of Guardians (a predecessor agency), during the 1978 merger of the JBG and Jewish Family Services. He was one of the architects of merger and the new agency's second President from 1979 to 1981. He was an influential and dedicated committee member of JBFCS's Hawthorne Cedar Knolls School. Bud and Amy Cohen's commitment to advancing education and research in the social work field led to their playing an instrumental role in establishing the Center for the Study of Social Work Practice.

A leader at UJA-Federation, Bud Cohen served as its first Chairman of the Domestic Affairs Division in 1986 and later as the Chairman of the UJA-Federation Capital Campaign. One of his creations, The Cornerstone Fund, was recently renamed the Saul Z. Cohen Cornerstone Memorial Fund.

On April 15th, at a JBFCS Remembrance service for Bud Cohen, Dr. Alan Siskind, JBFCS Executive Vice President, announced the establishment of the Saul Z. Chair for family and child Mental Health. Dr. Siskind presented a plaque to Amy Scheuer Cohen commemorating the establishment of this Chair, which he described as "the first endowed Chair of its kind in the country, outside of a university, which will insure the continuity of professional excellence in child and family practice. It is fitting that this Chair carry the name Saul Z. Cohen, who was such a strong proponent of these objectives. It is also fitting that such a Chair be established first in the nation's largest mental health and social service agency, where training and research are seen as the core of effective service delivery." The first recipient of the Saul Z. Cohen Chair will be named this fall.