The Sokol Legacy of Investing in People

The Margaret and Herman Sokol Chair in Chemistry was endowed in 1999 in memory of Herman Sokol '37, who was instrumental in discovering the antibiotic tetracycline and the process for its manufacture. A research chemist, teacher, and industrialist, Dr. Sokol was president of the Bristol-Meyers Company from 1976 until he retired in 1981.

“I consider this gift a very sound investment in the future of higher education,” Mrs. Sokol said at the time of the endowment. “It recognizes the excellence of the faculty and the science programs at Montclair State University and will help guarantee the best possible education for generations of University students, today and into the future.”

“Margaret didn’t like the idea of endowing buildings and physical structures,” says Dr. Jeffrey H. Toney, the Herman and Margaret Sokol Professor of Chemistry. “She wanted to support people.”

Toney has fond memories of Mrs. Sokol and her visits to campus. “She loved to talk with students about their studies and their future plans,” he shares. “You could see her face light up. And she insisted on meeting each and every single one of the students who was a Sokol Fellow.”

“We are building a core faculty around the themes of drug discovery and pharmaceutical research,” says Dr. Toney. His current research projects rely upon key collaborations with MSU faculty as well as experts outside the University. The top chemistry and biochemistry students assist in his research projects.

Toney noted that the class size for undergraduate general chemistry at MSU is about 30 students. A similar class at Rutgers can have as many as 300. “We typically know every one of their names,” he says of the students.