John Rosenwald, Jr., retired Vice Chairman of The Bear Stearns Companies, Inc., was welcomed to the Teachers College Trustees in May of this year. Named "Philanthropist of the Year" by The New York Times in 2000, Rosenwald sits on the board of many non-profit organizations, including Carnegie Hall, the Central Park Conservancy, the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York University and New York University School of Medicine, among others.

After graduating Dartmouth in 1952, he earned his MBA from Dartmouth's Tuck School of Business in 1953 and immediately joined Bear, Stearns & Company. In less than ten years, Rosenwald became a General Partner of the firm and was soon elected to the Bear Stearns Executive Committee. In 1985, he was elected a Member of the Office of the President and in 1988, Vice Chairman of The Bear Stearns Companies, Inc.

As a philanthropist, he has raised billions of dollars for capital campaigns of a number of non-profit organizations, and he has made his own contributions as well, including an endowed professorship and funding of a chemistry lab at Dartmouth. He funds short-term visiting fellowships at the New York Historical Society to researchers using the Society's collections. In May of this year, the Metropolitan Museum of Art honored Rosenwald at its 2002 Corporate Benefit for his ongoing commitment to the Museum and his work as the Executive Chairman of The Fund for the Met, for which he helped raise nearly $600 million.

In an article in The New York Times, Rosenwald described his fundraising philosophy as "Rosie's Rules" that include such maxims as "Don't ask anyone to do anything you haven't done yourself," "Don't give till it hurts; give till it feels good," and "Nobody is insulted by being asked for too much."

What many attribute to Rosenwald's success in garnering support for the institutions with which he is affiliated is his amiable personality. The program for the Metropolitan Museum benefit at which he was being honored noted his "boundless energy and legendary generosity" in addition to his "engaging wit, remarkable tenacity, and warm spirit." One major donor solicited by Rosenwald told The New York Times, "He made a very pleasant experience out of it all," and added, "John is not a big man, but when you're with him you feel that you're in the presence of a man of huge stature."

Published Monday, Feb. 24, 2003