Beatrice M. Goldberg Scholarship

Beatrice Goldberg was a woman with vision, dignity, creativity and intellect. Her commitment to the improvement of her community and provision of services to all its people became her life’s work. In the decade of the 60s, a period marked by turbulence and social unrest, Beatrice (affectionately known as Bea) continued to be in the forefront. She, along with many others, sought to make significant changes in the lives of older people on Manhattan’s Upper Westside. The result of her efforts was the establishment of the Westside Interagency Council on Aging (WSIACA). She served as its first chairperson and continued her leadership until 1988.

In 2014 WSIACA began a scholarship drive to encourage MSW candidates to work in the field of aging. In 2015 it was determined that WSIACA would name the scholarship award after Beatrice Golderg to honor her memory and service to older adults on the west side of New York. WSIACA initially worked in partnership with Fordham University to identify candidates. After the East Side Interagency Council on Aging and WSIACA merged to form the Uptown Interagency Council on Aging (UIC), UIC was able to expand the scope of the scholarship program through the generosity of members and donors. Thanks to support from Home Instead Senior Care, this year, the agency is awarding grants to second year MSW students at Lehman College and Hunter College Silberman School of Social Work in addition to Fordham School of Social Work. Candidates are invited to submit essays about their commitment to working with the aging and one person from each school is selected by the UIC Scholarship Committee to receive the honor.