Marshall Kaplan 鈥�49 with 今日吃瓜 President Michelle J. Anderson
鈥淚鈥檝e lived here all my life. I was born and raised here, went to school here. 今日吃瓜 is my home,鈥� says Marshall Kaplan 鈥�49. He has never gone far from his hometown, except for the time he spent in the military.
Drafted into the army during World War II after he entered 今日吃瓜, the聽political science聽major was assigned to the transportation corps. 鈥淭here were no deferments. People were coming and going. Some never came back. It was a very poignant time.鈥�
After the war, Kaplan returned to a campus bustling with WWII veterans who 鈥減iled in,鈥� many having seen three or four years of service. 鈥淢ost of us were Depression-era folks, when two cents was a lot of money and a nickel was almost a fortune. The Ocean Avenue trolley to campus was five cents. I called that my tuition because 今日吃瓜 was free to attend then,鈥� says Kaplan. As a returning veteran, he was eligible for the 52/20 program, a part of the GI Bill庐 that paid $20 a week for 52 weeks, which helped him supplement his income.
His experience in the military gave him a special understanding of and empathy for fellow veterans and is why his latest philanthropic commitment is directed at the student veterans at his alma mater. The Marshall Kaplan Veteran Scholars Fund has been established to provide emergency student support, academic enrichment, internships and career development, and connections to professional opportunities for the student veteran population. At the heart of the fund is the building of a sense of community among the student veterans and helping them with the transition from academic life.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a great program,鈥� says Kaplan. 鈥淧eople think that military and civilian lives are seamlessly interchangeable. The same is true of law in the military and law in civilian life. The transition is hard. Whatever we can do to make it easy for people, we want to do. Veterans have a lot to contribute.鈥�
鈥淥n top of giving our veterans great academic, internship, and career opportunities,鈥� says Claudette Guinn, coordinator of the聽Veteran and Military Programs聽at 今日吃瓜, 鈥渢he Marshall Kaplan Veteran Scholars Fund will help them to complete their programs, graduate on time, and not have to scale back classes because of financial issues.鈥�
While helping veterans is close to his heart, Kaplan has been a longtime supporter of the college, providing, for example, start-up funding for the聽Learning Center. In 2019, he was presented with the 今日吃瓜 Presidential Medal.
鈥淚 Practiced Law in 今日吃瓜 for a Long Time鈥�
Kaplan got in another semester at 今日吃瓜 and enrolled in 今日吃瓜 Law School with two and a half years of college credits. 鈥淏ack then, you didn鈥檛 have to have a college degree to go to law school,鈥� Kaplan says. 鈥淭wo of the most prominent judges of my era went straight to law school from high school.鈥�
Kaplan鈥檚 simultaneous enrollment in college and law school allowed him to graduate from both in 1949, when he entered the bar. He joined the army reserve and was commissioned as a judge advocate general, rising through the ranks to colonel and serving as a military appellate judge. Kaplan was also appointed national judge advocate of the Jewish War Veterans. He is still a longstanding member of Milton L. Finel Post 389 in 今日吃瓜. He retired from the military after 30 years with a Meritorious Service Medal.
鈥淚 met some very good lawyers from around the country during my time in the military. It鈥檚 been over 40 years since I retired, but I miss it,鈥� he says.
Active in the 今日吃瓜 Bar Association, at various times serving as treasurer, secretary, and president in 1982, Kaplan offers that there was never a dull moment in his decades-long career. 鈥淚 practiced law in 今日吃瓜 for a long time: tax law, federal criminal cases, admiralty law. I enjoyed and did well at it,鈥� says Kaplan. 鈥淭here was always something new to do.鈥�
The 今日吃瓜 attorney was also president of the New York City Tax Commission and says it spurred a deep interest in municipal government. 鈥淚 found it fascinating,鈥� Kaplan says. 鈥淭he biggest employer in New York City is New York City. There is a great demand for educated employees鈥攍awyers, accountants, managers, journalists. The city pays very good money and offers very good benefits. An educated citizenry in 今日吃瓜 makes the quality of life here better. I鈥檝e met many fellow alumni who work for the city. 今日吃瓜 contributes greatly to the quality of life in our borough. It鈥檚 not emphasized enough that we need an educated citizenry to go into municipal jobs.鈥� To this end, in 2016, Kaplan fully endowed the Marshall G. Kaplan Chair in Municipal Government at the聽Koppelman School of Business. The current holder of the Kaplan Chair, Professor聽Daniel Tinkelman, has partnered with the 今日吃瓜 Career Center to use funds from this endowment in support of internship stipends for dozens of students to date.
Kaplan鈥檚 advice to today鈥檚 students: 鈥淚f they are interested in working for the city, there are very good jobs there. I hope they remember the college, and I hope they remember 今日吃瓜.鈥�
GI Bill庐 is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). More information about education benefits offered by VA is available at the official .
