Michael Schinagel
Propelling the Future

Thinking outside the box was common for Michael Schinagel—as was leaving a lasting impression. Today Michael’s charitable estate gift to The Menninger Clinic Foundation is enabling him to do both, even after his lifetime. The Regina Kleinmann/Michael Schinagel Award for Mental Health Care Innovation will be bestowed annually on a Menninger clinician or researcher who is charting new frontiers.

Michael Schinagel was born in 1924 in Germany as Michael Kleinmann. His mother Regina was loving, but she suffered with schizophrenia and was unable to care for him consistently. As such, Michael went to live with his aunt and uncle, the Schinagels, in Poland when he was a small child. In the early 1930s, as the Nazi party gained power, Michael and the Schinagels left to find safety in America. Too ill to travel, his mother passed away soon after.

Michael grew up in the Bronx neighborhood of New York City and became fascinated with the incredible advances in aviation that were occurring at the time. After serving in the Army during World War II, he went on to become a respected aeronautical engineer—helping to develop today’s commercial jet engines. People were drawn to Michael. His sense of humor. His verve. And his ingenuity. While his life’s work was science, his greatest passion was the arts. “Michael loved to paint,” shares Tom Stretton, a dear friend. “He used art to show his appreciation for life and to help make sense of it.”

Later in life, Michael was treated at Menninger for depression. This experience ultimately inspired his first gift to The Clinic in 1966. “Michael’s commitment demonstrates how grateful he was for the care he received at Menninger,” says Mr. Stretton.

The Regina Kleinmann/Michael Schinagel Award honors his loving mother by helping to expand boundaries and uncover promising new treatments in mental health care. “Michael would be truly inspired by the transformative research and innovation happening at Menninger today,” says Mr. Stretton. “He wanted to build on his mother’s legacy by offering hope for others. This is his greatest gift.”