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1922 - 2020
Leo Kornfeld, retired Naval Lieutenant Commander, Presidential Appointee, and pioneer in the crusade for financial aid and student loans, died on April 8 at his home in Rye, N.Y. He was 97.
Kornfeld was born to immigrant parents in Brooklyn, New York on October 31, 1922. He caught the attention of his math team advisor who suggested he pursue a career as an actuary. This led him to the University of Michigan. The first person in his family to go to college, he ultimately earned a BA in Mathematics at the University of Michigan and a BS and MS at The Georgia Institute of Technology. He also participated in special programs at Harvard Business School.
He was still a student at Michigan when World War II broke out, and decided to enlist in the U.S. Navy. He served on the Pacific Command on several ships including the Destroyer USS Samuel Roberts and the Aircraft Carrier USS Barnes. He was later placed at the Pentagon and, after the war, was stationed on the Dry Dock in Agana, Guam along with his young family. After 14 years of service, Kornfeld left the Navy in 1957, having ascended the ranks from Midshipman to Lieutenant Commander.
His first foray into the civilian workforce was at the consulting firm Cresap, McCormick and Paget, where he ultimately ran the education division as Deputy Commissioner. He also served as Vice President of Pace University, and ADP, President of True Basic, and ultimately Managing Director of Exetor Group.
Kornfeld was determined to ensure that other Americans had the same educational opportunities that he was granted, regardless of their backgrounds and demographics. He was instrumental in the collegiate co-education movement, spearheading the "year-round plan" at Dartmouth College that is still in place today. In 1981, Kornfeld, alongside co-authors Gonnie and William Siegel, published the book How to Beat the High Cost of Learning.
It was 1977 when then Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare, Joseph Califano, offered Kornfeld the position of Deputy Commissioner of Education during the Carter administration, directing a new agency, the Bureau of Student Financial Assistance. He returned to the public sector as a Presidential Appointee under the Clinton administration as Senior Advisor to the Secretary of Education. He was responsible for the design and implementation of the National Direct Student Loan program. Kornfeld's program enabled five million Americans to avoid the same challenges of college costs that he faced as a young man.
Leo Kornfeld's tireless passion for his work was only rivaled by his love for his family. He is survived by his wife of 72 years, Laura O. Kornfeld, as well as his three children, Melanie Grimes, Hank Kornfeld, and Nancy Danielle Rudes; their spouses, Amy Kornfeld and Jordan Rudes; four grandchildren, and one great grandchild. His favorite saying was "don't let the bastards get you down," and he lived by it, defying the odds in a life that, in his words, exemplified The American Dream.
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Published in New York Times from Apr. 17 to Apr. 18, 2020.
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