I was saddened deeply yesterday to learn that a colleague, an old and great friend of the Schwartz Institute, Jerry Bornstein passed away suddenly. A true champion of communication-intensive instruction and information literacy, Jerry was the Deputy Chief Librarian at Baruch College. There from the very the start, he was instrumental in making our Newman Library the incredible resource we now know it to be. His intelligence, warmth, and dedication to serving the needs of Baruch students made a huge impression on me and on all of us who had the pleasure to know and work closely with him. Here’s a video of Jerry being Jerry, talking about why he loves his job on the occasion of the 10 millionth visitor to the Newman Library in 2003.
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Link to the full video with some wonderful stories from Jerry’s long tenure at the library.
So, so sorry to hear the news. Thanks for posting this.
I am also very saddened by Jerry’s passing. He was always a great help to me and to the Department of Fine and Performing Arts.
I also was terribly saddened to learn of Jerry’s passing. I became acquainted with him through his passionate advocacy for information literacy at Baruch. Jerry will be sorely missed.
I met Jerry at the Baruch Symposium last year. He was a kind soul and very passionate about Baruch College. I often show this video to my students in COM 1010 as an example of how to tell stories in a relaxed and positive manner. He will be missed.
Professor Bornstein’s passing was deeply saddening to me. As one of his former students, I can say Professor Bornstein was one of the most memorable teacher’s I have ever had at Baruch College. He was always so enthusiastic about sharing ideas with the class and really let me know that there’s an array of sources out there to look for the answers to so many questions. He pushed me above and beyond what I thought I could accomplish in his class and told me that it’s alright to question things in our world that other people would not. I will miss seeing Professor Bornstein running around the Newman Library, but am honored to have been his student and to have witnessed his inspiring ideas and thoughts in the classroom.
I was very sad to hear about Professor Jerry Bornstein sudden demise. I had him as a professor for few days this semester. He was a great professor. He was very enthusiastic and always wanted to help students with their problems. My deepest sympathy goes to Prof. relatives in this time of grief.
i was so shocked to hear that news. i took his LIB 3040 course this semester and it was going very well and i loved being in his class. he actually help me to register for this course. so i will never forgot his help.he will definiately be missed!
Professor Bornstein was an excellent professor and a great friend to me. I can say that I spend all my time at home, The Ticker and the library and every time I went to the library Professor Bornstein always cracked a joke of some sort and made my day many times. I remember his NBC News stories that I heard when I took his class and all of his little jokes that I could not understand until after I had taken his class, and was able to figure out when he was joking.
I always tried to crack jokes as well, but never was able to, until one day I was taking the new edition of the Ticker to the library and he said, “Hey, only official student newspapers are allowed there.” I said, “But we got permission from the official paper to place our paper here.” And he then laughed and said, “You are the official student newspaper.” And then went about his day.
This year I worked with Professor Bornstein to submit my essay from his class to an ethics competition in school, if I win, I’ll dedicate the award to him.
I think we lost a great asset at Baruch and I will miss Professor Bornstein. He was one of my dearest professors and I really, really liked him.
Rest in Peace Professor Bornstein, you helped make my college experience better than I expected.
I left Baruch College in 1996, only to realize that I needed to go back and finish my degree to perhaps find a job I would love to do. As a returning student in Fall of 2008, I needed a work study position. So with the help of another lovely person (Annette Ruiz) I took a job in the circulation department. This was when I came across Professor Bornstein. I noticed his strong work ethic, and an obvious pleasant disposition. It seemed like he loved his job.
As I began working at the library I got an understanding of why he might have loved it. Maybe it was for the reasons I did; which are, helping people find information they couldn’t find on there own, the smile you get from a happy patron relieved that they can now complete their paper or what have you. This feeling must have been even greater for a man in Professor Bornstein’s position.
I was deeply saddened by the news of his passing. Why? Mostly for selfish reasons. As a student, I only got a taste of what a superb teacher he was. The few classes I had with Professor Bornstein led me to believe I was in for a great ride. And now my classmates and I are deprived of that.
In the 1 1/2 years I knew Professor Bornstein, I can truly say he was one of the great influences on my life. I’ve had great mentors in my life. I count him amongst them. His work will live on through me. I plan on becoming an Academic Librarian. Besides music, it has become my second love.
I’ll miss you professor.
Professor Bornstein was one exceptional individual. He loved his family very much. He would always comment on how proud he was of his daughters and their accomplishments. I was deeply saddened when I heard the news. And I would like to offer my condolences to his wife, daughters and grandkids. He was a wonderful Professor and a great mentor. His enthusiasm was always evident in everything he did. I was fortunate enough to have been one of his students. And I will always remember him as the kind, joyful and intellectual soul that he was. Thank you Professor Bornstein for sharing your wisdom and experiences with us all. You will be sincerely missed.
I knew Jerry years ago when we worked on a small paper called “Wildcat”. He was a pleasure to know and work with. Wish I would have kept in touch during the years.
I worked as Professor Bornstein assistant from 2005 – 2007 and I am very honored to have done so. Professor Bornstein was an excellent professor and I’ve learned a lot from him over the years.
The thing I’m going to miss most is Professor Bornstein’s sense of humor.
When I last saw Professor Bornstein, I told him that I was going to graduate by end of Fall 2010. He then said maybe some credits could be deleted from my records so I can stick around Baruch a little longer. I thought to myself, “You could do that?”, but Professor Bornstein’s smile told me he was joking. Worked for the man for over two years and he still had me.
I’ll miss you Professor.
I found out about Jerry’s death only now, a year later, when I made an attempt to get in touch with him after many years of having drifted apart. We were very close friends in the ’70s, belonged to a writing group together for several years, and I was like an adopted uncle in his family. I was struck with sorrow about having been so long separated from them, and deeply saddened by Jerry’s death. I Googled him and read the tributes and watched his library video. I’m glad he found his way into becoming a teacher and glad that his political point of view remained strong but was also integrated into his daily life. I miss him, and am sorry I “missed” him.