HWS News
6 January 2023 • Alums • STEM Cohen '71, P'05 Commits $500K to Integrated Science Center Project By Colin Spencer '19
State-of-the-art building will be the hub of scientific education delivered in the best tradition of the liberal arts.
Thanks to Hobart and William Smith’s strong science and liberal arts programs, Dr. Arnold Cohen ’71, P’05 says the education he received at HWS was the best preparation for attending medical school and becoming a physician.
To help continue that legacy for future students, Dr. Cohen, a Professor of Medicine at the Washington State University College of Medicine and an Associate Clinical Professor Emeritus at the University of Washington School of Medicine, along with his wife Dr. Colleen R. Carey P’05, a retired endocrinologist and endocrine oncologist, have committed a gift of $500,000 to the new integrated science center as well as the Annual Fund.
“Over the years, I’ve become convinced that the best preparation for becoming a physician was at a liberal arts college with a strong science program,” says Dr. Cohen, a retired gastroenterologist.
Dr. Cohen credits Hobart and William Smith with his intellectual growth and preparation for Harvard Medical School and life as a physician.
“HWS changed the way my mind worked. It demanded so much of me,” he says.
Drs. Cohen and Carey have remained active supporters of the Colleges. In 2004, with a gift of $220,000, they established the Dr. Arnold N. ’71, P’05 & Dr. Colleen Carey P ‘05 Endowed Research Fund to be awarded to students pursing research in the natural sciences.
In 2009, with a gift of $5,000, Dr. Cohen, established the Dr. Arnold N. Cohen ’71 P’05 Phi Beta Kappa Endowed Book Fund. A prize is awarded annually to the sophomore Hobart student with the highest GPA.
In 2021, with a commitment of $150,000, Dr. Cohen established the Dr. Arnold N. Cohen ’71, P’05 and Dr. Colleen R. Carey P’05 Endowed Phi Beta Kappa Fund in honor of the sesquicentennial of the Zeta Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa.
Dr. Cohen hopes the establishment of a new integrated science center accomplishes three goals: First, prepares students majoring in the sciences for professional careers with high quality technology; second, assists in providing a science education for non-science majors and third, provides science faculty an attractive and well-equipped facility to conduct research, helping to attract top science faculty and prospective students.
Dr. Cohen graduated summa cum laude from Hobart with a degree in biology. As a student, he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa his junior year. Dr. Cohen later attended Harvard Medical School, where he graduated Alpha Omega Alpha and completed a residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. He also completed a fellowship in gastroenterology at Northwestern University. Dr. Cohen practiced gastroenterology in Spokane, Washington for 38 years.
Dr. Carey received a BS from Pomona College, an MD from the Medical College of Pennsylvania (now Drexel) where she also completed a residency in Internal Medicine. She completed a fellowship in Endocrinology at the University of Chicago. She has held teaching positions at the University of Washington School of Medicine and the Washington State University College of Medicine. She retired from the private practice of endocrinology after 38 years.
Their son, Eric Cohen ’05, is a psychiatrist and an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the Washington State University College of Medicine.