Michael Shinagel is the former dean of the Division of Continuing Education and

University Extension Continuing education is the education undertaken after initial education for either personal or professional reasons. The term is used mainly in the United States and Canada. Recognized forms of post-secondary learning activities within the d ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

, and the longest serving dean in Harvard's history.

Early life

He was a child in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

, and his family had to escape Europe after the rise of

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

and the start of World War II. As a refugee, he attended school in New York City and briefly attended Cornell University in 1951 and 1952, studying agriculture. He served with the US Army in Korea, and then completed his degree at

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1833, it is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational lib ...

on the

G.I. Bill The G.I. Bill, formally the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, was a law that provided a range of benefits for some of the returning World War II veterans (commonly referred to as G.I. (military), G.I.s). The original G.I. Bill expired in ...

. He earned his doctorate in English Literature at Harvard University on a national fellowship.

Career

After completing his doctorate in 1964, he began an academic career of teaching and administration at Cornell University from 1964 to 1967. He then moved on to

Union College Union College is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York, United States. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the s ...

from 1967 to 1975. At Union he served two three-year terms of chairman of the English Dept. and in 1972 was promoted to professor of English. Shinagel was the fifth dean of the Extension School, having been appointed in 1977 and serving until 2013. Prior to being named dean, he was the Director of Continuing Education and University Extension from 1975 to 1977. He was also formerly Master of Quincy House.

Books

He is the author of a history of the Harvard Extension School, ''The Gates Unbarred'', and a memoir, ''Holocaust Survivor to Harvard Dean: Memoirs of a Refugee's Progress''.

References

Works cited

* * Living people Harvard Extension School faculty Harvard University administrators Harvard University alumni Oberlin College alumni United States Army personnel of the Korean War Austrian refugees 1934 births Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences alumni {{US-academic-administrator-1930s-stub