The establishment of an ICEC Mentorship Endowment fund by Paul Kaplan
The Coleman Kaplan Endowment, founded by Paul Kaplan (1953-2021) and C. Norman Coleman (1945-2024), is designed to further knowledge related to cancer care for health-disparities populations globally and to enable young health professionals to pursue careers in that aspect of global health.
Paul Kaplan, son of Dr. Henry Kaplan and Leah Lebeson Kaplan, passed away in June 2021 from cancer. Prior to his death, Paul had demonstrated a decades-long interest in human service and cancer care to the underserved globally.
C. Norman Coleman, or Norm to family and friends, passed away in March of 2024 after a short battle with cancer after receiving treatment for an aggressive sarcoma. A key founder of the International Cancer Expert Corps and Senior Advisor to the organization, Norm committed his time to ICEC until mid-February while his legacy continues to influence the future of radiotherapy and access to cancer treatment worldwide.
In discussions with his sister Ann Kaplan and her husband, Robert Spears, Paul in tandem with C. Norman Coleman, generously bequeathed a portion of his estate to the International Cancer Expert Corps Mentorship Program and designated that the fund would be named the C. Norman Coleman / Paul Kaplan Endowment Fund for Mentorship in honor of Paul and Norm’s nearly 40 year friendship and shared dedication to improving cancer outcomes.
Building on a highly successful management model of an endowment related to cancer research in Boston, the endowment fund is managed by the ICEC Endowment Committee, which oversees the investment and strives to achieve a predictable and ideally growing level of funds to support ICEC-sponsored mentoring relationships and ICEC Twinning Programs. The Endowment Committee will determine the annual amount of funds to be awarded each cycle and, with scientific guidance, will select awardees for all research grants in accordance with parameters approved by the ICEC Board of Directors.
ICEC welcomes and encourages additional contributions to grow the fund, enabling more granting opportunities in the future.