Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Media, Law & Policy
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Media, Law & Policy

Maxwell School receives major gift from Chicago businessman Andrew Berlin

Thursday, September 23, 2010, By News Staff
Share
Institute for National Security and CounterterrorismMaxwell School of Citizenship and Public AffairsResearch and Creative

The Maxwell School has announced that it has received a $500,000 endowment gift to fund faculty research relating to issues of national security. The Andrew Berlin Family National Security Research Fund has been established in honor of Professor David H. Bennett and will operate through the Institute for National Security and Counterterrorism (INSCT), a collaboration between Maxwell and the Syracuse University College of Law. The fund will provide research and related support to Maxwell School faculty members who are affiliated with INSCT.

berlinThe donor, Andrew Berlin, is chairman and chief executive officer of Berlin Packaging, headquartered in Chicago. Under his leadership since 1988, the consumer-centric company has experienced exponential growth, with annual sales approaching $600 million. His gift to the Maxwell School was inspired by a professor who, he says, “stood out among the rest” during his undergraduate days at SU, where he received his bachelor’s degree in political science.

“Syracuse University, though large and at times daunting, was a place—I always believed—that if one chose to learn and be successful would provide a plethora of paths and methods to achieve those goals,” says Berlin. “To that end, I seized upon political science and history as the two subjects that engaged me most. My desire to excel was supported by nearly every professor with whom I came in contact, but there was one professor who, to me, stood out among the rest. That was and is David Bennett. His passion for his teaching, his students, his work, became a model for me as my personal evolution to adulthood was accelerating.

“Long after my departure from SU, I always remembered fondly the school, its culture, the environment and the opportunities. I am now at the point in my life where I can say thank you in a meaningful manner, and also address and assist in the important study and research of national security and counterterrorism issues. Regardless of politics and perspective, very little matters in our country if we do not have strong national security; all other important planks in one’s political platform, all other important issues of the day (education, welfare, health care, a healthy economy) pale by comparison. And I cannot think of a better place to support—at a school that provided that nurturing environment—than the Institute of National Security and Counterterrorism. Moreover, it is my honor to add Professor David Bennett’s name to this gift, and recognize his many years of commitment to Syracuse and the many students he mentored and nurtured during his tenure,” says Berlin.

Bennett remembers Berlin well. “When he was a student at SU,” Bennett says, “Andrew was an exceptional student in my classes, including a course in military history. He has had an extraordinary career since leaving our campus, and now his generous gift will support student and faculty research on national security and terrorism issues for years to come. I am deeply honored that Andrew would include my name in the title of the Berlin Family Fund.”

INSCT was established in 2003. It is dedicated to interdisciplinary teaching, research and public service focused on important national and global problems of security and terrorism. INSCT faculty and graduate students pursuing professional and doctoral degrees engage in advanced coursework toward specialty certificates in security and terrorism studies. They collaborate in the development of innovative interdisciplinary courses and seminars, such as “Perspectives on Terrorism,” team taught by political science, history, communications, international relations, public administration and law faculty.

The Institute’s research portfolio is broad and deep, ranging from faculty-supervised student working papers and research reports, to significant articles and books for academic journals and presses, to sponsorship of major workshops and conferences designed to further a research agenda in security or terrorism. While all INSCT research advances knowledge in the field, many projects are conducted on behalf of, or in consultation with, agencies, municipalities and other public entities, thus providing direct public service.

INSCT Director William C. Banks says, “I can think of no better way for Andrew Berlin to honor Professor David Bennett than to create an endowed research fund in his name, benefiting faculty whose research is directed at questions involving national security and counterterrorism.”

  • Author

News Staff

  • Recent
  • Arts and Sciences Hosts Inaugural Scholarship and Research Gala
    Friday, May 9, 2025, By Sean Grogan
  • Chancellor Kent Syverud Honored as Distinguished Citizen of the Year at 57th Annual ScoutPower Event
    Thursday, May 8, 2025, By News Staff
  • New Maymester Program Allows Student-Athletes to Develop ‘Democracy Playbook’
    Thursday, May 8, 2025, By Wendy S. Loughlin
  • From Policy to Practice: How AI is Shaping the Future of Education
    Thursday, May 8, 2025, By Christopher Munoz
  • Kohn, Wiklund, Wilmoth Named Distinguished Professors
    Thursday, May 8, 2025, By Wendy S. Loughlin

More In Media, Law & Policy

New Maymester Program Allows Student-Athletes to Develop ‘Democracy Playbook’

Fourteen student-athletes will experience Washington, D.C., next week as part of a new Maymester program hosted by the Syracuse University Institute for Democracy, Journalism and Citizenship (IDJC). The one-week program, Democracy Playbook: DC Media and Civics Immersion for Student-Athletes, will…

Advance Local, Newhouse School Launch Investigative Reporting Fellowship Program

A new collaboration with Advance Local will provide Newhouse School journalism students opportunities to write and report on investigative projects with local impact for newsrooms across the country. The David Newhouse Investigative Reporting Fellowship program, which launched this year in…

Lauren Woodard Honored for Forthcoming Book on Migration Along Russia-China Border

Lauren Woodard, assistant professor of anthropology, has received the Spring 2025 Association for Slavic, East European and Eurasian Studies (ASEEES) First Book Subvention for her upcoming book on Russia’s migration policies on the Russia-China border. Woodard’s book is titled “Ambiguous…

Maxwell School Proudly Ranks No. 1 for Public Affairs in 2025

The Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs has earned the No. 1 overall spot in the latest U.S. News & World Report Best Public Affairs Schools rankings. This year’s top ranking follows Maxwell’s yearlong celebration of its founding 100…

Cultivation of Talent and Moral Compass Guide University Trustee Richard Alexander L’82

Over the last decade, Richard Alexander L’82 has navigated his chosen profession (the law) and his chosen passion (Syracuse University and its law school) through incredibly challenging waters. As partner, managing partner and chair of one of the nation’s most…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • X
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2025 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.