Henry Rosovsky

Henry A. Rosovsky (September 1, 1927 – November 11, 2022) He continued to serve as Dean from 1973 to 1984, and again, as acting dean, in a period ending on July 1, 1991. In those roles, he is cited for a variety of strong contributions, including in the support for developing quality academic and other programs for African American and Jewish studies and students. In 1985, Rosovsky became a member of Harvard's governing body, the Harvard Corporation, a position he served in until 1997. He was the first Harvard faculty member to do so in a century.

Early life Henry Rosovsky was born on September 1, 1927 in the Free City of Danzig, now Gdańsk, Poland, to Selik and Sonia Rosovsky, Russian Jewish immigrant parents. and French as well. The Rosovsky's fled Danzig on the eve of Nazi Germany's 1938 invasion of Poland, making their way "first to Belgium and then to France, Spain and Portugal", before departing for New York.

After Cherry Lawn, Rosovsky began a U.S. Army enlistment that led to his presence with the Counterintelligence Corps, during part of the Nuremberg trials of Nazis for war crimes He returned to the Army, serving in the Korean War from 1950 to 1952, eventful service that saw him receiving a Purple Heart after experiencing frostbitten feet, and final deployment to a Japanese listening station "to monitor Soviet broadcasts". Rosovsky taught as a visiting professor in Japan and Israel.

In 2000, Rosovsky chaired a Task Force, convened by the World Bank and UNESCO, on Higher Education and Society (with Mamphela Ramphele). The Task Force was convened to 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 of governance.

In addition to consulting with the World Bank, and UNESCO. he served in similar capacities with the United States government, and the Asian Development Bank.

Administrative roles After a career as an economic historian, Rosovsky was named a Harvard dean in 1973 by Harvard President Derek Bok. Commissioned in 1993 for a structure on the corner of Mt. Auburn and Plympton Streets, Rosovsky Hall was designed by Israeli-born architect, urban planner, educator, theorist, and author Moshe Safdie.

THe building's groundbreaking occurred on March 17, 1993, and its dedication on May 1, 1994. Its naming for him was in recognition of his leadership in the university's Jewish life, and to acknowledge his role as the first Jewish member of the Harvard Corporation, the university's highest governing body. On the event of the 25th anniversary of the building, and Rosovsky's 90th birthday, a celebration of the building and its namesake took place there.

Publications

Rosovsky is the author of the scholarly works, Capital Formation in Japan (1961), Quantitative Japanese Economic History (1961), and Japanese Economic Growth (with K. Ohkawa, 1973).

He also wrote the popular work, The University: An Owner's Manual (1990). Thomas Short of Commentary magazine praised The University as "a cozy book" in which Rosovsky, with "a humorous, relentlessly self-deprecating manner," shares "many anecdotes from his own career in higher education."

Rosovsky also served as editor for the following collections: Industrialization 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 and D. Landes, 1991); and The Political Economy of Japan: Cultural and Social Dynamics (with Shumpei Kumon, 1992).

Awards and recognition

Rosovsky was long a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (since 1969).

In 1981, Rosovsky received the Encyclopædia Britannica Achievement in Life Award "for achievement in education". The government of France made him a Chevalier of the Legion of Honour in 1984. In 1987, he was recognized by the Council of the American Academy of Achievement with the Golden Plate Award. Rosovsky has been a member of the American Philosophical Society since 1987 as well. In 1988 he was awarded the Order of the Sacred Treasure (Star) by the Government of Japan.

In 1992 Rosovsky received the Clark Kerr Medal for service to Higher Education from the University of California at Berkeley.

Personal life Henry Rosovsky was married to an author, and former Harvard Museum of the Ancient Near East curator (now retired), Nitza Rosovsky. Together they had three children, Leah, a daughter; and Judith and Michael.

With renewed attention to the information held by the U.S. government on the crimes of the late Jeffrey Epstein (convicted in 2008 of a sexual offense against a minor ), and the U.S. House release, in response to a subpoena—of the contents of Epstein's 2003 "birthday book" (50th birthday collection organised by Ghislaine Maxwell) —reports are appearing that alongside President Donald Trump, a variety of further business and other figures contributed to the book, including Bill Clinton, Alan Dershowitz, Leslie Wexner, and many more. (Epstein and Leslie Wexner were among a very small set of donors that had, on Rosovsky's encouragement, in 1991 pledged US$2-million for the construction of a new building for the Hillel organisation at Harvard.