William Birenbaum

Who was William Birenbaum?

William Marvin Birenbaum was an American educator and college administrator who served in leadership positions at the New School for Social Research, Long Island University, Staten Island Community College, and received national attention for his efforts to address financial difficulties during his term as president of Antioch College. He also served as president of the National Student Association.

Birenbaum was born on July 18, 1923, in Macomb, Illinois. He was raised in Waterloo, Iowa and enrolled at the Iowa State Teachers College until he enlisted in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. After completing his military service, he attended the University of Chicago where he completed a doctor of law degree. After serving as dean of students at the University of Chicago from 1947 to 1957, Birenbaum moved to Wayne State University, where he was an assistant vice president and served as chairman of the Michigan Cultural Commission. In 1961, he was named as dean of the New School for Social Research.

Starting in 1964, Birenbaum was the vice president and provost at Long Island University's Brooklyn Center. In that role he supported keeping lower tuition and approved changes that eliminated a dress code and allowed students to have a beard. He was opposed in these efforts by the traditionalist chancellor R. Gordon Hoxie who had sought to raise tuition as a means of dealing with the college's mounting debt burden. Hoxie demanded Birenbaum's resignation in March 1967, despite the fact that the faculty had voted by a nearly 4–1 margin to keep him as provost. 1,500 students gathered to mount what turned out to be an unsuccessful protest against Birenbaum's dismissal, chanting "We want Bill" and physically confronting Dr. Hoxie. The sequence of events, on the other hand, eventually resulted in Hoxie being asked to resign in September 1968 by the board of trustees Birenbaum served as president of Staten Island Community College from 1968 to 1976.