Biography of the Boncheks
About the Boncheks
Lawrence Bonchek, M.D., P'91, and his wife, Rita Bonchek, Ph.D., P '91, have traveled widely and observed many cultures. Their personal experiences and their observation of world affairs have strengthened their conviction that unscientific attitudes and non-rational approaches to problem-solving lead to world views that can be dangerously intolerant and divisive.
"Tolerance of diverse beliefs is essential to world peace because it is a regrettable fact that religious strife is now responsible for most wars and the worst wars," they said.
The Boncheks cite their education in the sciences as the source of their commitment to evidence-based solutions. "The scientific method does get into you," said Lawrence Bonchek. "It becomes your world view, and affects how you look at everything. I seek logical, rational solutions to problems."
"I do the same," said Rita Bonchek. "As a psychologist, I'm a rational therapist. A patient can have all the insight in the world, but it doesn't help if their behavior doesn't change."
Previous Bonchek programs include talks by writer Ann Druyan, who discussed "Science, Faith and Freedom," bioethicist Peter Singer, who gave a lecture titled "Is the Sanctity of Human Live Still Defensible," and political analyst Kevin Phillips, whose talk was titled "The Politics of Radical Religion, Oil and Debt."
Lawrence Bonchek founded the cardiothoracic surgery program at Lancaster General Hospital in 1983, and served as director of cardiothoracic surgery until he retired from clinical practice in 2000. Previously he was professor and chairman of the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the Medical College of Wisconsin. He is now Editor-in-Chief of The Journal of Lancaster General Hospital, and also serves on the editorial boards of several academic journals. He is vice chairman of the Board of Directors of the Lancaster General College of Nursing and Health Sciences.
He recently served as a member of Franklin & Marshall's Leadership Council and chaired the Benjamin Rush Advisory Council from 2002-05. He was named to the Franklin & Marshall Board of Trustees in 2005.
A graduate of Yeshiva University, Bonchek earned his medical degree from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in 1963.
Rita Bonchek is a retired psychologist whose special interest was grief and loss counseling. Born in Paterson, N.J., she is a graduate of New Jersey’s Montclair State University, and earned her M.S. and Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Wisconsin. She is a co-founder of the Tennis ACES program in Lancaster.
The Boncheks have two children: a daughter Lisa and a son Mark. Lisa Bonchek Adams graduated from Franklin & Marshall in 1991, and is married to Clarke Adams, F&M ‘92. In 2005, the Boncheks gave a gift to construct the 120-seat Bonchek Lecture Hall in the new, state-of-the-art Barshinger Life Sciences & Philosophy Building. In the spring of 2007, they made another gift to the College that transformed the South Benjamin Franklin residence halls into the Bonchek College House.
"Since Rita and I both have doctoral degrees, we have a natural affinity for higher education. We feel it is most often the key - as it has been for us personally - to changing one's life circumstances and one's attitudes," said Dr. Bonchek.
