A Passion For Knowledge: The Gruson Fund

At heart he was an academic, says Hiroko Gruson when talking about her late husband, long-time partner and esteemed legal scholar Michael Gruson (1936- 2005). “Teaching and scholarship were his passions. When we first met, he was working at the University of Berlin. Before Michael became an attorney, his goal was to be a professor.”

Although Gruson eventually returned to the classroom, it was not before he led a successful career in international banking and securities law. A noted specialist in the field, Gruson represented government-owned and private banks and companies. He was also the author and co-author of several books on banking and lectured widely on the topic. Years later, after retiring from the daily practice of law, Gruson went back to teaching and was a visiting fellow at many European universities.

As a testament to Gruson’s love of scholarship, his family has established The Gruson Fund for Brain Tumor Research and Care, which will provide support for the diagnosis and therapy of brain cancers, as well as finance lectures, collaborative projects, and fellowships among educational institutions and hospitals both in the United States and abroad. The Fund’s inaugural project will be the Michael Gruson Memorial Lectureship at Weill Medical College of Cornell University. The first of four annual lectures will be held on November 13, 2006.

Despite surgery and aggressive chemotherapy, Gruson succumbed to a brain tumor 10 months after it was diagnosed. Because there is no viable cure for the disease, the mortality rate for patients is quite high explains Hiroko. “During those last months of his life,” she says, “Michael was struck by the devotion of his doctors and the absence of adequate funding for study in neuro-oncology. He made a promise to his attending physician, Dr. Susan Pannullo of Weill Medical College, that he would set up a charitable organization to help fund research on the causes and treatment of brain tumors. In keeping with his wishes, our children and I have done just that.”

Members of the Fund’s board of directors are Hiroko Gruson, Ph.D., chair, Dr. Eugenie Doyle, professor emerita of pediatrics at New York University, and Bradley K. Sabel, Esq. Several notable doctors and scientists who are actively involved in brain tumor research have agreed to serve as a scientific advisory board.

All contributions to The Gruson Fund are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law and may be sent to the following address: The Gruson Fund for Brain Tumor Research and Care, Grand Central Station, P.O. Box 3091, New York, N.Y. 10163. Information on making a contribution by wire transfer can be found on the Fund’s website at www.grusonfund.org.

Remembering how hard her husband worked up to the very end of his life, Hiroko recalls that “Michael was always enthusiastic about identifying and nurturing young talent. I think he would have been very happy about the Fund, knowing that it will help sponsor and encourage doctors to pursue research in a very difficult branch of medicine.

Michael's obituary

THE NEW YORK TIMES OBITUARIES, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2005 GRUSON‚ Michael. Former Partner and Of Counsel, Shearman & Sterling (1936-2005) Michael Gruson, a key figure in international banking and capital markets, died in New York on December 20 of a brain tumor. Mr. Gruson, a long-time partner with Shearman & Sterling, was a well-known and highly respected attorney practicing in the United States and Germany. A noted specialist in foreign banking and securities law, he represented government-owned and private European, Asian and Latin American banks and companies, as well as helped usher in commercial relations between the United States and Germany. He was fundamental to the establishment in New York of many foreign banks, including the Bank of China and Credit Anstalt. Mr. Gruson was a pioneer in international law, and helped inaugurate Shearman & Sterling‚Äôs German practice. He was very instrumental in developing the firm‚Äôs foreign associate program in which many well-known lawyers and business executives participated, including the General Counsel of the Frankfurt stock exchange. Born in 1936 in Berlin, Mr. Gruson received his legal education in Germany (University of Mainz, Freie Universitat, Berlin, Dr. Jur. 1966), and in the United States (Columbia University, MCL; LLB). He joined Shearman & Sterling in 1965 and was elected to partnership in 1973. A respected academic, he was the author and co-author of several seminal books in international banking and lectured widely. He was a visiting fellow at numerous international universities. He is survived by his wife, Hiroko, sons Rudolf, Andreas, Sebastian, Matthias, Florian and Konrad, and grandchildren Luis, Manuel, Alexander, Sebastian, Federico Hermann and Sophia. Services will be private. A memorial service was held at Shearman & Sterling in New York on January 23, 2006.