Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Campus & Community
  • 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
Campus & Community

Syracuse University Mourns Passing of Longtime Benefactor and Life Trustee Gerald B. Cramer ’52, H’10

Thursday, February 22, 2018, By Carol Boll
Share
alumniBoard of TrusteesCollege of Visual and Performing ArtsMaxwell School of Citizenship and Public AffairsSchool of ArchitectureWhitman School of Management
head shot

Gerald B. Cramer

Gerald B. Cramer ’52, H’10, devoted friend, advocate and generous benefactor of Syracuse University, died Feb. 13, 2018. Cramer, whose extraordinary philanthropy seeded opportunity for countless students and advanced faculty excellence, had served on the Board of Trustees since 1995 and was a Life Trustee at the time of his passing.

Born in 1930, Cramer was a 1952 graduate of Syracuse University’s Whitman School of Management and remained deeply involved with his alma mater throughout his life. His dedication and impact were recognized with numerous University distinctions during that time, including a George Arents Pioneer Medal—the University’s highest alumni distinction—and an honorary doctor of laws degree.

After earning a degree in accounting from the Syracuse University Whitman School of Management and attending the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business, Cramer launched a successful career as an investment manager that would span 50 years. He was a managing director of GOM Capital and a co-founder and chair emeritus of the investment advisory firm Cramer, Rosenthal & McGlynn, where he held overall responsibility for the firm’s investment policy. He also was associated with the investment brokerage houses of Oppenheimer & Co., where he was a senior partner, and Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner and Smith. He also served as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War.

“Gerry exemplified the power of one person to make a positive difference in the lives of others,” says Chancellor Kent Syverud. “He funded dozens of scholarships and provided leadership support for innovative programs that were important to him. He had a big heart and an even bigger vision that will continue to shape Syracuse University’s legacy and impact for generations to come.”

Cramer’s love for Syracuse University touched every segment of the campus community. But his philanthropy had an especially transformative impact on students and faculty of the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. He served on the school’s Advisory Board for more than 15 years and vigorously supported initiatives designed to foster global scholarship and engagement. He funded faculty positions in global affairs, economics and aging studies; provided leadership support for the Institute for National Security and Counterterrorism; and supported numerous scholarships and programs in international relations, including a student exchange program between Maxwell and the Interdisciplinary Center at Herzliya, Israel.

As a result of Cramer’s broad engagement with and support for its students and programs, the Maxwell School in 2004 selected him as the first recipient of the Maxwell School Horizon Award, which recognizes wise, inspirational volunteer leadership and exceptional philanthropic commitment. The award recently was renamed the Cramer Horizon Award in his honor.

“Gerry Cramer was an extraordinary friend and benefactor to the Maxwell School,” says Dean David Van Slyke. “He shared a commitment to the school’s core values of international engagement and academic excellence, and its mission to change the world for the better. And he delighted in working quietly and effectively behind the scenes to seed programs and opportunities that furthered those values. His impact, along with that of his wife, Daphna, will live on in the generations of people who have and will continue to benefit from their extraordinary support.”

Cramer once said his passion for international student exchanges is rooted in his conviction that on-the-ground experience in other countries gives students an understanding of that country and its people that they couldn’t have gotten any other way. In reference to the Maxwell exchange program with the Interdisciplinary Center at Herzliya, Israel, he said, “Of all I have done in my life from a philanthropic perspective, this is what I am most proud of.”

During his tenure on the University’s Board of Trustees, Cramer served a term as a vice chairman and on the Board’s Investment and Endowment Committee. He also served on the School of Architecture and Metropolitan New York advisory boards and was a strong supporter of the College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA).

Beyond Syracuse University, Cramer supported numerous professional, civic and community organizations, including Mt. Sinai and Montefiore hospitals, the National Dance Institute, St. Joseph’s Medical Center, the Glaucoma Foundation, and Teatown Lake Reservation Nature Preserve and Education Center, among others.

Cramer is survived by his wife, Daphna; six children, Lauren Cramer L’94, a current member of the University Board of Trustees and chair of the VPA Council; Douglas Cramer ’87, a member of the Whitman Advisory Council; Thomas Cramer; Kimberly Cramer-Germ; Roy Raskin ’95; and Shelly As; and 14 grandchildren.

  • Author

Carol Boll

  • Recent
  • Calling All Alumni Entrepreneurs: Apply for ’CUSE50 Awards
    Tuesday, June 24, 2025, By John Boccacino
  • Iran Escalation: Experts Available This Week
    Tuesday, June 24, 2025, By Vanessa Marquette
  • SCOTUS Win for Combat Veterans Backed by Syracuse Law Clinic
    Monday, June 23, 2025, By Vanessa Marquette
  • Syracuse Views Summer 2025
    Monday, June 23, 2025, By News Staff
  • Tiffany Xu Named Harry der Boghosian Fellow for 2025-26
    Friday, June 20, 2025, By Julie Sharkey

More In Campus & Community

Retiring University Professor and Decorated Public Servant Sean O’Keefe G’78 Reflects on a Legacy of Service

For most of his time as a public servant, Sean O’Keefe G’78 adhered to a few guiding principles: Step up when someone calls upon you to serve. Be open to anything. Challenge yourself. Those values helped O’Keefe navigate a career…

Jorge Morales ’26 Named a 2025 Beinecke Scholar

Jorge Morales ’26, a double major in history and anthropology in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs with a minor in English and textual studies in the College of Arts and Sciences, has been awarded the highly competitive…

Registration Open for Esports Campus Takeover Hosted by University and Gen.G

Syracuse University and global esports and gaming organization Gen.G have opened general registration at campustakeover.gg for its first Campus Takeover Sept. 20-21. The two-day conference will bring students and administrators to Syracuse to highlight career opportunities within the esports industry…

2 Whitman Students Earn Prestigious AWESOME Scholarship

For the first time in the 12-year history of the program, both nominees from the Whitman School of Management have been selected as recipients of the 2025 AWESOME Excellence in Education Scholarship, a prestigious honor awarded to top-performing undergraduate women…

Whitman’s Johan Wiklund Named a Top Scholar Globally for Business Research Publications

The Whitman School of Management’s Distinguished Professor Johan Wiklund was recently listed as one of the most prolific business and economic research scholars globally, according to “What We Know About the Science of Science in Business and Economics? Insights From…

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.