Rudolph Herbert Weingartner (February 12, 1927 – November 16, 2020) was an American philosopher and academic administrator. He served as provost of the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colle ...

and dean of

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences Northwestern University (NU) is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest chartered university in Illinois. Chartered by the Illinois ...

Biography

Weingartner was born on February 12, 1927, in

Heidelberg, Germany Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

, and came to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

at the age of 12 with his parents. His family settled in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, and Weingartner attended

Brooklyn Technical High School Brooklyn Technical High School, commonly called Brooklyn Tech and administratively designated High School 430, is a public specialized high school in New York City that specializes in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. It is on ...

before serving in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

in 1945, serving in the

Pacific Theater The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

following the surrender of

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. He then received his bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

. He began his academic career at

San Francisco State University San Francisco State University (San Francisco State, SF State and SFSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Francisco, California, United States. It was established in 1899 as the San Francisco State Normal School and is ...

and then served as chairman of the philosophy department at

Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States. The college be ...

. He then became a full-time administrator, serving as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at

for 13 years. He was provost of the

from 1987 to 1989 and taught philosophy there until his retirement. He received a

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon Guggenheim, Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon indiv ...

in 1965. Weingartner died on November 16, 2020, in

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

at age 93. His academic an professional books include: ''Experience and Culture: The Philosophy of Georg Simmel'' (1962) ''The Unity of the Platonic Dialogue: The Cratylus, The Protagoruas, the Parmenides'' (1973) ''Undergraduate Education: Goals and Means'' (1992) ''Fitting Form to Function: A Primer on the Organization of Academic Institutions'' (1996) ''The Moral Dimensions of Academic Administration'' (1999) He wrote about his life in ''Mostly About Me'' (2003) and ''A Sixty-Year Ride though the World of Education (2007)''

References

1927 births 2020 deaths University of Pittsburgh faculty Northwestern University faculty Columbia College (New York) alumni Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni {{DEFAULTSORT:Weingartner, Rudolph H. Brooklyn Technical High School alumni Writers from Heidelberg Vassar College faculty American academic administrators American people of German-Jewish descent Jewish American academics