A generous gift from alumnus and long-time Advisory Board member H. Lewis Rapaport ’59 BA (AmSt) and his wife Susan (a 1959 graduate of Syracuse’s Whitman School of Management) has established an endowed scholarship fund that will provide financial assistance to undergraduates studying at the Maxwell School.

The Susan and H. Lewis Rapaport Endowed Scholarship will support undergraduate students who have demonstrated interest in studying history or political science. When complete, the Rapaport endowment will total $250,000.

Following his graduation from the Maxwell School, “Lew” Rapaport served as a lieutenant in the U.S. Army, graduating from the U.S. Army Artillery & Missile School at Fort Sill. Early in his career he was a construction supervisor for the Webb & Knapp Co. in New York City, which built Lincoln Towers. Rapaport then started his own business, Score Carpentry, whose first major project was contracted at the 1964 New York World’s Fair.

Later, the company was renamed Component Assembly Systems (CAS), which performs drywall, millwork, acoustic-ceiling, and other specialized building services. The company, with eight offices throughout the United States, has played key roles in countless high-profile construction projects including the World Trade Center (also known as the Freedom Tower), the 9/11 Museum, Carnegie Hall, Yankee Stadium, and, in Washington, D.C., the National Museum of African American History & Culture and the Ronald Reagan Building. In addition, CAS recently completed work at the Apple campus and the new Facebook headquarters in California. Rapaport is chairman and CEO of the company.

A self-professed military and history buff, Rapaport is a member of the Patriot’s Circle of the World War II Museum in New Orleans and a lifetime trustee of the USS Constitution Museum in Boston.

“As a member of the Maxwell Advisory Board, I’ve seen first-hand the remarkable undergraduate students who are attending Maxwell today,” Rapaport says. “My Maxwell experience enriched my life in many ways. Susan and I find it quite meaningful to positively impact the educational experience of current and future students. It is a privilege to support Dean Van Slyke and this important need for the School.”

11/15/18