It is with sorrow that we announce to the College community the passing of Dr. Henry Wasser, former Dean of Faculties at Richmond College, on Sunday, Sept. 4, 2016. Dr. Wasser served as Dean from the time Richmond College was founded in 1966 until 1973. A prominent educator, he spent most of his career with The City University of New York, starting in 1946. He taught for many years at CCNY before becoming Dean of Faculties at Richmond College, which later merged with the two-year college, Staten Island Community College (SICC), to form the College of Staten Island CUNY. Dr. Wasser then served as Vice President for Academic Affairs at Cal State Sacramento before returning to NYC and The City University. He was Chair of the CUNY University Faculty Senate from 1980-1986 and became a member and subsequently an emeritus member of The City University Board of Trustees. He was also a member of the Department of Sociology at The Graduate Center of The City University as well as the Department of English at the College of Staten Island.
In the words of his son, Professor Frederick Wasser of Brooklyn College, Dr. Wasser was always interested in progressive values, which inspired his career in public higher education. Fulbright awards to Greece, Norway, and Portugal led to his interest in comparative higher education and his strong advocacy of faculty governance. He was a strong voice for the CUNY mission of providing an academic education for everyone. His academic writings focused on literature, American Studies, and the sociology of higher education.
A more detailed obituary, written by Manfred Philipp, Executive Director, the CUNY Academy for the Humanities and Sciences, is available online.
