[1][2] It was founded with a gift of $26.5-million from Joseph Neubauer, former CEO and chairman of Aramark Corporation, and Jeanette Lerman-Neubauer, founder of the Philadelphia marketing and communications firm, J.P. Lerman & Company.
[4][5] Gallery exhibitions at the Neubauer Collegium, along with other projects addressing themes such as the environment and media, are supported by the Brenda Mulmed Shapiro Fund.
[13] Jonathan Lear, the John U. Nef Distinguished Service Professor at the Committee on Social Thought and in the Department of Philosophy, was named Roman Family Director of the Neubauer Collegium for Culture and Society in October, 2014.
[14] Lear stepped down in June 2022, and Tara Zahra, Homer J. Livingston Professor of East European History and the College, has served as Roman Family Director since July 2022.
Board members serve for three-year terms and assist with governance and the annual selection of faculty-led research projects.