Pictured above: Kevin D. Cooper, MD; Penni and Steve Weinberg; Donna M. Plecha, MD

On Monday, September 28, University Hospitals hosted friends and benefactors at the Cleveland Museum of Art for the Annual Society of 1866 Celebration. In recognition for their incredible generosity and commitment to Northeast Ohio, Penni and Stephen Weinberg were honored with Samuel L. Mather Visionary Award. Kevin Cooper, MD, and Donna Plecha, MD, FSBI, FACR received the 2026 Distinguished Physician Award.

Samuel Mather Visionary Award: Penni and Stephen Weinberg

Penni and Steve Weinberg have made philanthropy and service a lifelong priority, generously supporting UH through both their charitable giving and volunteer leadership.

Penni is a member of the UH Board of Trustees and is a former member of the UH Cleveland Medical Center Board of Directors. Both Penni and Steve are members of the UH Neurological Leadership Council and the Because of You Campaign Committee.

Their longstanding support of the UH Neurological Institute has advanced brain health and memory research, while their most recent gift through the Because of You campaign to the future Iris S. and Bert L. Wolstein Center will support caregiver education, training and simulation programming. The Penni and Stephen Weinberg Grand Hall within the center will be named in recognition of their support

Art is also a huge part of Penni and Steve’s life and UH is fortunate to have some of Penni’s artwork hanging on the walls of several of its hospitals.

UH Distinguished Physician Award: Kevin D. Cooper, MD

Dr. Kevin Cooper recently stepped down as Chair, Department of Dermatology, UH Cleveland Medical Center after more than 30 years of leadership.

During his tenure, he oversaw the establishment of the first endowed position in dermatology, the Henri Pell Junod, Jr. Chair in Dermatology, which he holds. He also led tremendous growth in the department while embodying UH’s mission of To Heal. To Teach. To Discover through patient care, teaching residents and fellows and mentoring fellow faculty, and discovering new approaches to therapies.

His groundbreaking research helped establish that psoriasis is immunologically driven and led to his co-invention of the first FDA-approved biologic therapy for psoriasis. He also co-founded Fluence Therapeutics, a start-up biomedical company created to develop a novel photodynamic therapy for psoriasis and lymphoma. His contributions have had a lasting impact on UH, his patients and the field of dermatology.

UH Distinguished Physician Award: Donna M. Plecha, MD

Dr. Donna Plecha is a nationally-known expert in breast imaging who has received numerous awards and honors for excellence in breast imaging, education and leadership. Dr. Plecha, who serves as the Chair, Department of Radiology, UH Cleveland Medical Center; Co-Director, UH Diagnostic Institute and the Ida and Irwin Haber and Wei-Shen Chin, MD, Chair in Radiology, has been at UH since 1993.

In 2014, she co-authored a landmark study that appeared in the Journal of the American Medical Association that showed combining 3D mammography with standard digital mammography finds more invasive cancers and lowers false-positive recall rates.

Not only has her groundbreaking research helped transform breast imaging, she and her radiology team are also at the forefront of implementing patient-centered artificial intelligence at UH. AI is currently being used to advance the diagnosis and treatment of brain tumors, breast cancer, prostate cancer and pancreatic cancer. Under her department’s direction, UH received recognition from the American College of Radiology for its safe and effective deployment of medical imaging AI.

Congratulations to the new Society of 1866 Members who were recognized at this year’s celebration:

Robert and Janet Archer
David and Julie Borsani
Wei-Shen Chin, MD
Cleveland Eye Bank Foundation
Michael and Christine Davis
Jim and Judy Fleming
John and Carol Fountain
Tom and Marsha Hopkins
John Templeton Foundation
Bud and Katie Koch
Raymond and Sylvia Lee
Scott and Julie Mawaka
The Murch Foundation
Parker Hannifin Corporation
Clay and Beth Rankin
Bob Serpentini
Quinten and Vicki Tifft