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Henry Rosovsky

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Henry Rosovsky
Personal details
Born(1927-09-01)September 1, 1927
Free City of Danzig,(modern Gdansk, Poland)
DiedNovember 11, 2022(2022-11-11)(aged 95)
Cambridge, Massachusetts,U.S.
SpouseNitza
Children3
Alma materA.B.College of William and Mary,PhDHarvard University
OccupationProfessor,college administrator

Henry Rosovsky(September 1, 1927 – November 11, 2022)[1]was an American economist and academic administrator who served as dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences ofHarvard University.Following a career as an economic historian specializing in East Asia, Rosovsky was named dean in 1973 by Harvard PresidentDerek Bok.[2]He served from 1973 to 1984 and, again, in 1990 to 1991. He also served as acting president of Harvard[3]in 1984 and 1987. In 1985, Rosovsky became a member of Harvard’s governing body, theHarvard Corporation,until 1997. He was the first Harvard faculty member to do so in a century.

Rosovsky was a professor of economics and chair of Harvard’s Department of Economics.[4]He held the Geyser University Professorship Emeritus. He was married to retired formerHarvard Semitic Museumcurator and author Nitza Rosovsky. Together they had three children, Leah, Judith, and Michael.[5]In May 2020, Leah Rosovsky was appointed Stanford Calderwood Director of theBoston Athenæum.[6]

Early life[edit]

Born in theFree City of Danzig(Gdańsk) toRussian Jewishparents, Rosovsky grew up speaking Russian, German, and French.[7]At age 13, Rosovsky came to the United States in 1940 with his family. He served in the US Army from 1946 to 1947 and again from 1950 to 1952. In 1949, he received his A.B. degree from theCollege of William and Maryand his Ph.D. degree from Harvard in 1959. He became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1949.[1]

Career[edit]

Professorship[edit]

Rosovsky taught economics, history and Japanese studies at theUniversity of California at Berkeleyuntil 1965. He has taught as a visiting professor in Japan and Israel and has worked as a consultant with the United States government, theAsian Development Bank,theWorld BankandUNESCO.

In 2000, Rosovsky chaired the Task Force on Higher Education and Society withMamphela Ramphele.[8]The Task Force was convened by theWorld BankandUNESCOto explore the future of higher education in developing countries. Its report,Peril and Promise,argued that higher education systems in poor countries are in crisis and made a case for renewed investment, curricular reform and improved standards ofgovernance.

Publications[edit]

Rosovsky is the author ofCapital Formation in Japan(1961),Quantitative Japanese Economic History(1961),Japanese Economic Growth(with K. Ohkawa, 1973) andThe University: An Owner's Manual(1990).[9]He also editedIndustrialization in Two Systems(1961),Discord in the Pacific(1972),Asia's New Giant: How the Japanese Economy Works(with H. Patrick, 1976),Favorites of Fortune(with P. Higonnet andD. Landes,1991)and The Political Economy of Japan: Cultural and Social Dynamics(with Shumpei Kumon, 1992).

Thomas Short ofCommentarymagazine praisedThe Universityas "a cozy book" in which Rosovsky, with "a humorous, relentlessly self-deprecating manner," shares "many anecdotes from his own career in higher education."[10]

Awards[edit]

In 1981, Rosovsky received theEncyclopædia Britannica Achievement in Life Award for Achievement in Education,in 1987, received the Golden Plate Award of theAmerican Academy of Achievement,[11]and, in 1992, the Clark Kerr Medal for service to Higher Education from the University of California at Berkeley. In 1984 the French government made him a Chevalier of theLegion of Honor;in 1988 he was awarded the Order of the Sacred Treasure (Star) by the Government of Japan. He was a member of both theAmerican Academy of Arts and Sciencesand theAmerican Philosophical Society.[12][13]

Death[edit]

Rosovsky died from cancer in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on November 11, 2022, at the age of 95.[14]

Legacy[edit]

Harvard Hillel[edit]

Rosovsky was active inHarvard Hillelthroughout his time at Harvard.[15]Harvard Hillel's building,Rosovsky Hall,[16]was named after him in recognition of his leadership in the university's Jewish life and to acknowledge his role as the firstJewish member of the Harvard Corporation,[17]the university's highest governing body. Rosovsky Hall was designed by architect, urban planner, educator, theorist, and authorMoshe Safdie.[18]

References[edit]

  1. ^abMarquis Who's Who Biographies, retrieved via LexisNexis Academic
  2. ^"Bok Names Rosovsky as Faculty Dean | News | The Harvard Crimson".thecrimson.Retrieved2020-05-23.
  3. ^"Harvard President Says He Will Leave Next Year".Los Angeles Times.2000-05-23.Retrieved2020-05-23.
  4. ^"Henry Rosovsky".
  5. ^New York Times: June, 17, 1985: Leah Rosovsky becomes a bride
  6. ^Kohli, Diti (May 6, 2020)."Veteran Harvard administrator will lead the Boston Athenaeum - The Boston Globe".BostonGlobe.Retrieved2020-05-19.
  7. ^Dawidoff, Nicholas(July–August 2002)."Tough Love".Harvard Magazine.RetrievedAugust 19,2011.
  8. ^"Home".tfhe.net.Retrieved2020-05-23.
  9. ^Henry Rosovsky (1991).The University: An Owner's Manual.W.W. Norton.ISBN978-0-393-30783-2.
  10. ^Short, Thomas (July 1990)."The University: An Owner's Manual, by Henry Rosovsky".Commentary.RetrievedAugust 19,2011.
  11. ^"Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement".achievement.org.American Academy of Achievement.
  12. ^"Henry Rosovsky".American Academy of Arts & Sciences.Retrieved2022-05-05.
  13. ^"APS Member History".search.amphilsoc.org.Retrieved2022-05-05.
  14. ^Roberts, Sam (November 16, 2022)."Henry Rosovsky, Who Redefined Harvard to Its Core, Dies at 95".The New York Times.RetrievedNovember 16,2022.
  15. ^"Celebration of Henry Rosovsky's 90th and Rosovsky Hall's 25th".hillel.harvard.edu.Retrieved2020-05-23.
  16. ^"Structures in Time & Place: Snapshots of the Harvard Hillel's Construction | Magazine | The Harvard Crimson".thecrimson.Retrieved2020-05-23.
  17. ^Anderson, Susan Heller (1991-06-03)."Chronicle".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.Retrieved2020-05-23.
  18. ^"Moshe Safdie," On Invention and Fitness "".Harvard Graduate School of Design.Retrieved2020-05-23.

Further reading[edit]

  • Bronfenbrenner, Martin, Shigeo Minabe, and Yasukichi Yasuba. "Asia's New Giant: Two Reviews."Journal of Japanese Studies(1977) 3#1 pp 145–167.

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Henry_Rosovsky&oldid=1226045053"