Keeping up with the Koshlands: A Saga of Epicness

The INSC (Pre-landscaping apparently)

Koshland. The name alone sounds cool, yet vaguely mysterious, like a deep-sea coral or an alien planet. Haverford students mainly know it from the Koshland Integrated Natural Sciences Center (KINSC or INSC or the "Big Science Building" depending on who you ask). Yet, what exactly  is a Koshland and how did it get its name on Haverford's largest building?

Well, the direct answer is that Koshland is the last name of the dynamic husband and wife team of Catherine P. Koshland and James M. Koshland. Both are prime representatives of our wildly successful and interesting alum base.

Catherine Koshland, Class of '72 (Haverford)

Catherine, one of the first female students at Haverford, graduated with a B.A. in Fine Arts from Haverford's Class of 1972. She then studied painting at the New York School of Drawing, Painting and Sculpture, and received her M.S. in 1978 and then... get this... got her PhD in Mechnical Engineering from Stanford University in 1985. Seriously, from fine arts to mechanical engineering! I understand the connection, but let's sit back and just reflect on how much of a badass Catherine really is for a moment.

Now that that moment has passed, let's also note that Catherine then became an acclaimed professor at UC Berkeley and is now the Vice Provost for Teaching, Learning, Academic Planning & Facilities. Finally, she is the Chairman of the Board of Managers of Haverford. Wow.

James Koshland, Class of '73 (DLA Piper)

 Her husband did pretty well too. A history major, James is a member of the Class of  1973. He then got a J.D. from Stanford Law School. He is now a partner at DLA Piper, a prestigious law firm, where he works mainly with Venture Capital. 


Finally, it is important to note that both of Daniel's parents were, like his wife, eminent scientists. Marion E. Koshland (for whom the KINSC is named after) was a prominent immunologist and Daniel Koshland was a noted biochemist.

Yet, the question still remains... how did the Koshlands, a family of academics and attorneys, make enough money to get their family name all over Haverford's campus? The answer is simple... jeans.

Personally, I'm a huge fan of the "Ex-Girlfriend Jeans" (Levi Strauss)

For you see, Daniel Koshland (and now Catherine and James) was one of the heirs to the vast Levi Strauss fortune. So essentially denim paid for the INSC.


Since the family still controls the company, this is truly something to think about the next time one buys jeans.


For more information about the RIDICULOUSLY AMAZING Koshland Family:

http://www.haverford.edu/kinsc/about/sdarticle.pdf
http://www.haverford.edu/kinsc/about/marian_koshland_bio.phphttp://www.dlapiper.com/jim_koshland/
http://erg.berkeley.edu/people/faculty/Cathy_Koshland/koshland.shtml