Dear Commons Community,

Christmas came early — or really late, depending how you look at it, when, Vinod Menon, a physics professor at City College here in New York, discovered a box mailed to him and postmarked in 2020 in the school’s mailroom, holding $180,000.

He said he opened the box after returning to campus this semester and found a letter and $180,000 in cash wrapped in paper bands in $50 and $100 bundles. As reported by The New York Times.

The letter stated that the cash was a donation meant to help physics and math students in need at City College. It also explained that the donor was a former City College alum who received their bachelor’s and master’s degrees in physics at the school, ushering them into a successful scientific career.

City College and other  CUNY officials said they could not remember a similar donation this large in cash and sent anonymously.

Chief Pat Morena, the leader of the Department of Public Safety at City College, said the return address used a fake name that traced back to Florida but did not lead to the anonymous donor’s identity.

Happy Holidays to CCNY’s Physics Department.

Tony

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