E' venuto a mancare il 29 giugno 2017 a Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, all'età di 95 anni, Adrian G. Marcuse. Ex Presidente del LIM College, dal 1972 al 2002, resta una figura di spicco nel panorama retail americano e internazionale.
Riportiamo di seguito il sentito ricordo della figlia Elisabeth e ricordiamo, a coloro che lo desiderano, la possibilità di donare alla LIM College Fashion Education Foundation in memoria di Adrian.
Dear LIM Community,
This is one of the saddest communications to our LIM College community I have ever had to write. My beloved father, mentor and guiding light to me-- both personally and professional—and LIM College President Emeritus, Adrian G. Marcuse passed away peacefully on June 29, 2017, in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Born March 25, 1922, in Jamaica, Queens, NY, he was 95.
My father began his 55-year involvement with LIM College when in 1962, he stepped in to help his father at the "junior college" then known as Laboratory Institute of Merchandising, that his father, Maxwell F. Marcuse, had founded in 1939 to train young women for careers in retailing. Adrian didn’t officially take over the title of President until 1972, but the reality was that he ran the College from practically the first day he came on board.
My father headed the College for the next 40 years, having the vision to take it from a one year all girls certificate program to an associate degree granting institution, and then finally to a coed Middle States-accredited college offering 4- year bachelor’s degrees. None of these accomplishments came easy, but his perseverance in pursuit of these goals transformed and elevated our students’ educational experience and immeasurably enhanced their prospects for successful careers.
Yet perhaps the most bold and memorable move my father made on behalf of the College was his purchase of the Townhouse at 12 East 53rd Street. This decision set the stage for everything that was to come. He bought the Townhouse on his lunch hour one day in 1964, and in 1965, the College said goodbye to its rented premises around the corner on Fifth Ave. – which consisted of just three classrooms – and moved into what has become both our most iconic location as well as our spiritual home.
Several of you began your own employment here while he was still President. Many others came to know him through his role as President Emeritus and a member of the Board of Trustees. For those of you who did know him, among his many wonderful attributes was that he considered the people of LIM College to be extended members of his own family. This legacy is the foundation of our College’s culture, the strong sense of community and caring that exists to this day.
When my father was preparing to retire from active leadership and assume the role of President Emeritus, he and I both wrote letters to the graduates in the 2002 yearbook. My father’s letter was titled "Looking Back". It could easily be written today and not just to the students, but to you, our entire community. With a little liberty: One thing remains constant. Although the ethnic diversity of our country has changed dramatically, your careers, your motivation, your determination are the same as those of the LIM community 40 years ago. And that is what distinguishes LIM. So, while he became President Emeritus, his words were my beacon in my leadership of the College.
During his Presidency, he was a founding member of what is now the influential statewide association known as APC Colleges. He spent a great deal of time in Albany working with New York State officials on advancing our sector of higher education. He also went on to serve as a Trustee and member of the Executive Committee of the Association of Colleges and Universities of the State of New York.
In addition to his devotion to the College, my father was active in several higher education professional organizations, held many volunteer positions in Glen Cove, NY where he resided for 50 years, and was involved in MIT alumni activity for many years.
Before joining LIM, he attended MIT, graduating in 1942 with a BS in mechanical engineering, and then served 3 years in the South Pacific as a lieutenant in the USAAF, 18th Fighter Group, 13th Air Force where he received an Asiatic-Pacific Theatre Ribbon with Five Battle Stars. After earning an MS at MIT in 1946 in aero and thermodynamics, he had a 16-year career in engineering, primarily at Westinghouse, but was also instrumental in early research at United Technologies for what would eventually become supersonic flight.
He is survived by our loving family which includes, in addition to Eric Martin and me, his wife of 32 years, Jeanne (Lieberman Rossman) Marcuse, my sister Nancy (Ron) Marshall, Sally (Grey) Crawford, my stepsister Amy Rossman (James Schurtz) and his cherished granddaughters Katherine Marshall and Susannah Marshall. He was preceded in death by his parents Maxwell and Mildred Marcuse, his sister, Muriel Kenler, and his first wife of 35 years, Janet (Radlo) Marcuse.
Private interment will take place at Pinelawn Memorial Park in Farmingdale, NY. A celebration of my father’s life will be held in New York City on a September date to be determined. For more information please contact Ann Marie Gong in my office. Those who wish, please donate in Adrian Marcuse’s memory to the LIM College Fashion Education Foundation. (www.limfef.org)
Sincerely, Elizabeth Marcuse.
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