(September 7, 2021) Indian-origin neurosurgeon Dr Chander M Kohli and his wife donated $5 million to Youngstown State University in Ohio through their “We See Tomorrow” fundraising campaign – this is the largest donation ever in YSU’s 113-year history. In honor of their contribution, the University is now naming a new building on campus after the Kohlis.
“Chander and Karen are loyal, generous supporters of the YSU community, giving of their time and talents, as well as their treasure,” YSU President Jim Tressel said on the YSU website. “This historic gift and the naming of the building that houses our new Excellence Training Center ensures that the Kohlis’ legacy will live forever. On behalf of everyone on campus, we give our deepest thanks.”
The new 54,000-square-foot building that cost $12 million will now be known as Kohli Hall. Dr Kohli, who is a member of the Board of Trustees at the Northeast Ohio Medical University and a former member of the YSU Board of Trustees, donated the money to the institution in a bid to provide ongoing annual support for the Excellence Training Center, including integration and upgrades of technology; purchase and maintenance of equipment; expansion, renovation and maintenance of the building; and funding for ETC program initiatives. The amount will also help fund the institution’s Classrooms of the Future in memory of the Kohlis’ late son Aneal Mohan Kohli.
Born and brought up in New Delhi, Dr Kohli is an alumnus of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences and served in the Indian Armed Forces for three years as a general duty medical officer. He moved to the US in 1966 where he did his rotating internship and one year surgical residency at the Elyria Memorial Hospital, Ohio before doing his neurosurgical residencies at the University Hospital, Edmonton, Canada, and Mercy Hospital, Pittsburgh. He launched his private practice in Youngstown back in 1972 where he has been living since. Dr Kohli is the founding president of the American Association of South Asian Neurosurgeons and has several awards and honors to his credit.