Bob’s Birthday Match

When Bob Auerbach celebrated his 90th birthday on April 12^th by offering to match $100,000 of donations to the UW Odyssey Project, he had no idea the match would not only to be met but surpassed in just a few weeks.

“Fantastic!” he remarked. “I’m surprised that so many people responded so generously. I’m honored not only by the amount raised (over $160,000) but also by the fact so many people (over 400) took part, some scraping together just a few dollars so they could contribute. Usually there’s nothing good to say about getting old, but I’m happy that my turning 90 has benefited the Odyssey Project!”

Bob’s match seeds an endowment for Odyssey’s future. “I want the program to grow, and an endowment can provide the underpinning to sustain the program’s stability and long-term success,” Bob says. If you’re still considering a donation in Bob’s honor, you can do so below and your gift will help seed an endowment fund to sustain Odyssey’s growth and future needs.

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Born on April 12, 1929, in Berlin, Germany, Bob escaped the Holocaust and fought to overcome poverty here in America. Bob graduated from Berea in 1949 and continued his education, earning his masters and doctorate in Zoology/Genetics at Columbia University. He also completed postdoctoral work at Oak Ridge, Tennessee and at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda. Bob is Emeritus Professor of Zoology, member of the Institute of Aging, and Associate Member of the Wisconsin Clinical Cancer Center here at UW-Madison. Bob was honored with a named professorship from UW as well as a Distinguished Alumnus Award from Berea.

When asked about his Berea College experience, Bob says the best part was that it was where he met his wife, Wanda. They came from vastly different backgrounds—Bob from an educated Jewish family that fled Nazi Germany, and Wanda from a poor family living in Appalachia with no running water and no expectation of college. Wanda graduated as valedictorian of Berea and went on to become a medical librarian. Wanda and Bob were married 62 years. From 2003, when Odyssey began, until her death in 2012, Wanda and Bob attended Odyssey classes and graduations together. They were both excited by the way the program transformed people’s lives and broke cycles of generational poverty.

The Odyssey Project thanks Bob Auerbach for his incredible generosity!

Read more about Bob’s story in the Wisconsin State Journal!