Hochberg-Miniaci families donate money to support the Razor’s Edge programs

Harry Moon, NSU president-elect (left), and Albert Miniaci (right) attend the unveiling of the Hochberg-Miniaci Razor's Edge Scholars Program.

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Harry Moon, NSU president-elect (left), and Albert Miniaci (right) attend the unveiling of the Hochberg-Miniaci Razor’s Edge Scholars Program.

In the last academic year, the Hochberg and Miniaci families donated $5 million to the Razor’s Edge program, a scholarship opportunity that offers experience for students interested in leadership, research, global issues, education and the arts. On Aug. 19 during a ceremony outside of the Rosenthal building, the program was renamed the Hochberg-Miniaci Razor’s Edge Scholars Program in recognition of the donation.

The two families came together to honor Joel Hochberg, who died in 2023. Both families and Razor’s Edge students attended the ceremony and the unveiling of a plaque outside the Rosenthal Student Center.

Brad Williams, senior vice president for Enrollment Management, Student Affairs and Athletics, said that Hochberg and Miniaci were close friends.

“They have been wonderful supporters of Razor’s Edge. They would come to events, come to conclaves and they loved the Razor’s Edge students and the Razor’s Edge students loved them,” Williams said.

More than 1,200 students are graduates of the Razor’s Edge Scholars Program, which started in 2009. The Hochberg and Miniaci families’ donation will be used for student scholarships.

“Essentially the money that they’ve donated will go to funding the scholarships that the students receive, and it is something that will continue to grow interest and grow continually, so it is like a long-term investment into the program,” Cortney Stein, assistant dean for student success, said.

Emily Bernard, senior chemistry major and Razor’s Edge Shark Talent student, said that her favorite moment of the ceremony was the video played to commemorate Hochberg.

“At the end of the video, Mr. Miniaci said that he loved Hochberg so much that he decided he was going to let his name go first [on the plaque] and I thought was really cute,” Bernard said.

Williams said the families’ support kept the Razor’s Edge Scholars Program alive.

“I just feel so inspired by what our students who were Razor’s Edge scholars have gone on to do. Thankfully because of the Hochberg and Miniaci family, because were it not for their generosity, we wouldn’t have this program,” Williams said.

Graduates are now doctors, psychologists and other professionals. Daniel Brookins, 2014 alumnus from Razor’s Edge leadership, now works in a law firm as an associate. The Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, John Roberts, cited Brookins’s research in a decision that the Supreme Court made.

“The idea, the underlying current, no pun intended, for the Hochberg-Miniaci Razor’s Edge program, is to bring these strong campus leaders and help them grow, so that they would go on to, what we call, engage the unengaged students,” Williams said. “Because of the Miniaci program, more students would join clubs, more students would go into research, more students would study abroad, more students would work in the Tutoring and Testing Center.”