New York Education Philanthropist, Jeffrey Epstein, Applauds Bloomberg's Plan for more Charter Schools

Yahoo Finance





NEW YORK/ New York City Mayor, Michael Bloomberg, recently announced that he will personally fund the creation of four charter schools in New York City. The announcement was welcomed by New York financier and education philanthropist, Jeffrey Epstein . Epstein, a long-time supporter of Bloomberg, has financed numerous charter schools across the country including the Maya Angelou schools in Washington DC, the highly acclaimed Bard High School Early College in New York City and the Harlem Link Charter School.

Bloomberg's funding will come through his foundation, the Young Men's Initiative, which is also funded by George Soros' Open Society Foundations . Once approved by the state Board of Regents, the co-ed charter high schools will open in September 2014, alongside four public schools in five high-poverty neighborhoods: in Brooklyn, the South Bronx, Queens and East Harlem. Both the public and charter schools will share a board of trustees, with Melanie Hartzog , a former City Hall official for Health and Human Services, as a proposed member.



"The Mayor has a keen sense of what's needed to run a charter school," Jeffrey Epstein noted, whose own foundation also has a long history of supporting early education and Head Start programs. "Bloomberg oversees numerous charter schools and understands how to optimize fiscal and academic standards."

So far, there are mixed reviews about Bloomberg's initiative. Supporters of charter schools cite the expansion of a successful alternative to the public system, while others criticize the frequent closings of charters as well as the partial use of public tax dollars to manage the schools.

In addition to funding charter and Head Start schools, The Jeffrey Epstein VI Foundation continues to be a staunch supporter of cutting edge science and science education. Jeffrey Epstein also founded the Program for Evolutionary Dynamics at Harvard University in 2003 with a $30 million grant. He is a former member of the Trilateral Commission, the Council on Foreign Relations, Rockefeller University, New York Academy of Science and sits on the board of the Mind, Brain and Behavior Committee at Harvard University.







Financier and Education Philanthropist Jeffrey Epstein Backs the Unique New York Academy of Art.

CBS News Moneywatch



The Jeffrey Epstein VI Foundation has given crucial funding to the New York Academy of Art , one of the few graduate art schools in the United States that focus on a purely classical approach to the visual arts.

The funding comes at a critical time for the Academy since it has recently expanded its continuing education and alumni programs, along with its master classes and special events.

The New York Academy of Art, also known as the Graduate School of Figurative Art , was founded in 1982, in the post-modern era, by post-modern artist Andy Warhol and writer Tom Wolfe, who were devoted to fostering the resurgence of figurative and representational art. The Academy provides a two year MFA graduate degree, combining intensive technical training with critical discourse. Curriculum requirements include painting, drawing, and sculpture. Much emphasis is given to studying anatomy and drawing, the foundation of Renaissance art. And yet, Academy students are not steered towards a career in representational art. On the contrary, students are encouraged to use classical skills to produce vital contemporary art.



The Jeffrey Epstein VI Foundation was founded by the financier, Jeffrey Epstein in 2000 to support cutting edge science around the world. The foundation has expanded into funding education in the arts and sciences wherever it finds excellence in teaching.

Today New York Academy is headed by David Kratz, its President. The Department Chairs, Faculty and Senior Critics are all prominent artists including, Vincent Desdiderio, Catherine Howe and John Jacobsmeyer. Housed in a landmark 1861 building in Manhattan’s Tribeca neighborhood, there are 85 artist studios and 110 students.

"Rigorous training in technique, liberates the artist when approaching contemporary art," Jeffrey Epstein noted. "It gives him the tools to express himself precisely. The same can be said for the scientist when approaching science."

In addition to founding The Jeffrey Epstein VI Foundation, Jeffrey Epstein is a former member of the Trilateral Commission, the Council on Foreign Relations, the New York Academy of Science and a former Board Member of Rockefeller University. He is also the founder of The Program for Evolutionary Dynamics at Harvard University.