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Dr. Arthur J. Naparstek (June 1, 1938 – April 24, 2004) was a professor of social work and Dean of the
Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences
Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences is a school of social work, one of the six professional schools within the Case Western Reserve University system, located in the University Circle in Cleveland, OH. Established in ...
at
Case Western Reserve University
Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) is a private research university in Cleveland, Ohio. Case Western Reserve was established in 1967, when Western Reserve University, founded in 1826 and named for its location in the Connecticut Western Reser ...
in
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
. He was an expert on urban redevelopment and neighborhood revitalization whose community-building concepts served as the basis for local and national government programs in both the United States and Israel.
In the U.S., Naparstek's work helped redefine the function of public housing through community-building. As director of the
Cleveland Foundation
The Cleveland Foundation, based in Cleveland, Ohio, is the world's first community foundation and one of the largest today, with assets of $2.5 billion and annual grants of more than $100 million. Established in 1914 by banker Frederick Harris Gof ...
Commission on Poverty in the early 1990s, Naparstek oversaw the drafting of "The Cleveland Community-Building Initiative" report. The study became the foundation for the
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It administers federal housing and urban development laws. It is headed by the Secretary of Housing and Urb ...
's Urban Revitalization Demonstration Act of 1993, known as
HOPE VI HOPE VI is a program of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. It is intended to revitalize the worst public housing projects in the United States into mixed-income developments. Its philosophy is largely based on New Urban ...
. The multibillion-dollar HUD program re-conceived federal housing policy, in part, through community-building—by giving local community leaders and tenants a greater role in developing the revitalization plans for their housing projects and more control over operations.
"By building community, we are talking about people forming relationships," Naparstek said in a 2000 interview on
National Public Radio
National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other n ...
. "People are poor because they lack relationships with people who have access to resources and power."
In the 1960s, Naparstek started his professional social work career as an assistant to
Richard G. Hatcher, the mayor of
Gary, Indiana
Gary is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The city has been historically dominated by major industrial activity and is home to U.S. Steel's Gary Works, the largest steel mill complex in North America. Gary is located along the ...
and the nation's second African-American mayor of a northern industrial city who was elected in 1967, after the first black mayor of a major U.S. city,
Carl Stokes
Carl Burton Stokes (June 21, 1927 – April 3, 1996) was an American politician and diplomat of the Democratic Party who served as the 51st mayor of Cleveland, Ohio. Elected on November 7, 1967, and taking office on January 1, 1968, he was ...
, a Democrat was elected mayor of Cleveland, Ohio earlier in that same year. In the 1970s, Naparstek worked with Monsignor
Geno Baroni
Msgr. Geno Baroni (October 24, 1930 – August 26, 1984) was an American Roman Catholic priest and social activist who was instrumental in founding the National Italian American Foundation in 1975 and served as its first president.
Biography
Ba ...
of the National Center for Urban Ethnic Affairs and future members of Congress
Barbara Mikulski
Barbara Ann Mikulski ( ; born July 20, 1936) is an American politician and social worker who served as a United States senator from Maryland from 1987 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, she also served in the United States House of Repr ...
and
Marcy Kaptur
Marcia Carolyn Kaptur (; born June 17, 1946) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 1983. A member of the Democratic Party, Kaptur is the longest-serving woman in either chamber of Congress, and the second-longest ...
to write the
Home Mortgage Disclosure Act of 1975
The Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (or HMDA, pronounced ) is a United States federal law that requires certain financial institutions to provide mortgage data to the public. Congress enacted HMDA in 1975.
Purposes
HMDA grew out of public concern o ...
and the
Community Reinvestment Act
The Community Reinvestment Act (CRA, P.L. 95-128, 91 Stat. 1147, title VIII of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1977, ''et seq.'') is a United States federal law designed to encourage commercial banks and savings associations to hel ...
of 1977. During that period, Naparstek wrote the legislation authorizing the National Commission on Neighborhoods. President
Jimmy Carter
James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...
appointed Naparstek to serve on that Commission as well as the
President's Commission on Mental Health
The Mental Health Systems Act of 1980 (MHSA) was United States legislation signed by President Jimmy Carter which provided grants to community mental health centers. In 1981 President Ronald Reagan, who had made major efforts during his Governor ...
's Task Panel on Community Support Systems.
In 1983, Naparstek became Dean of the Case Western Reserve University School of Applied Social Sciences. As Dean, Naparstek raised funds to expand the school into a new building and it was renamed the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences.
In 1994, while still based at the Mandel School, President
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...
appointed Naparstek to the
Corporation for National Service.
In 1995, Naparstek was appointed to the
Urban Institute
The Urban Institute is a Washington, D.C.–based think tank that carries out economic and social policy research to "open minds, shape decisions, and offer solutions". The institute receives funding from government contracts, foundations and pr ...
in Washington, D.C. as a senior associate directing the Institute's HOPE VI initiative. Over the course of his social work and academic career, Naparstek co-authored four books and published many articles about the importance of community-building and mental health in public policy.
U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) called Naparstek "one of our most imaginative public policy thinkers." She said he cared "not just about programs, he put people first." Mikulski worked with Naparstek and Representative
Louis Stokes
Louis Stokes (February 23, 1925 – August 18, 2015) was an American attorney, civil rights pioneer and politician. He served 15 terms in the United States House of Representatives – representing the east side of Cleveland – and was the firs ...
(D-OH) on housing legislation, a collaboration she described as an "iron triangle," of which "Art was the brain trust."
Naparstek held a variety of leadership positions in Cleveland's Jewish community, as well as nationally. As co-chairman of the Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland's Partnership 2000 program, Naparstek applied his community-building concepts in
Beit She'an
Beit She'an ( he, בֵּית שְׁאָן '), also Beth-shean, formerly Beisan ( ar, بيسان ), is a town in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. The town lies at the Beit She'an Valley about 120 m (394 feet) below se ...
, a city in northern Israel. There he designed a program to train volunteer leadership and strengthen the economic base of the northern Israeli city, in part, by working to resolve longstanding conflicts between Beit She'an's
Sephardic
Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), ...
and
Ashkenazi
Ashkenazi Jews ( ; he, יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז, translit=Yehudei Ashkenaz, ; yi, אַשכּנזישע ייִדן, Ashkenazishe Yidn), also known as Ashkenazic Jews or ''Ashkenazim'',, Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: , singu ...
Jewish communities and by building connections to neighboring Palestinian and Jordanian cities.
In 1999, Naparstek orchestrated an unprecedented meeting between the mayor of Beit She'an and the Palestinian governor of
Jenin
Jenin (; ar, ') is a Palestinian city in the northern West Bank. It serves as the administrative center of the Jenin Governorate of the State of Palestine and is a major center for the surrounding towns. In 2007, Jenin had a population of app ...
at his home in
Cleveland Heights
Cleveland Heights is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States, and one of Cleveland's historical streetcar suburbs. The city's population was 45,312 at the 2020 census. As of the 2010 census, Cleveland Heights was ranked the 8th largest ...
to discuss joint economic development and community-building plans. Israeli Prime Minister
Ehud Barak
Ehud Barak ( he-a, אֵהוּד בָּרָק, Ehud_barak.ogg, link=yes, born Ehud Brog; 12 February 1942) is an Israeli general and politician who served as the tenth prime minister from 1999 to 2001. He was leader of the Labor Party until Jan ...
incorporated the Beit She'an community-building model into a $300 million program for eleven other development towns throughout Israel.
As an outgrowth of his work in Beit She'an, Naparstek was appointed senior vice president of
United Jewish Communities
The Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA), formerly the United Jewish Communities (UJC), is an American Jewish umbrella organization representing 146 Jewish Federations and 300 independent Jewish communities across North America, which rais ...
in 2001 with oversight of the organization's Israel and Overseas Pillar. At UJC he helped connect North American Jewish Federations with Israel and Jewish communities around the world. He also developed the Ethiopian National Project, aimed at speeding the acculturation of
Israel's Ethiopian community.
The son of Jewish immigrants from Poland, Naparstek was born in New York City and grew up in
the Bronx
The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...
and in
Mount Vernon
Mount Vernon is an American landmark and former plantation of Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States George Washington and his wife, Martha. The estate is on ...
. Naparstek received a bachelor's degree from
Illinois Wesleyan University
Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockfor ...
, a master's degree in social work from
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, the ...
, and a doctorate from
Brandeis University
, mottoeng = "Truth even unto its innermost parts"
, established =
, type = Private research university
, accreditation = NECHE
, president = Ronald D. Liebowitz
, pro ...
's Florence Heller Graduate School of Advanced Studies in Social Welfare Administration.
Naparstek died from lung cancer on April 24, 2004 at
University Hospitals of Cleveland
University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center (UH Cleveland Medical Center) is a large not-for-profit academic medical complex in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center is the main affiliate hospital of Cas ...
.
In 2005, The Mandel Center for Nonprofit Organizations at Case Western Reserve University established the Arthur J. Naparstek Philanthropic Fund based on gifts totaling nearly $1.6 million. The Fund endows two scholarships per year, for one American and one Israeli student to earn a masters in nonprofit management.
The Arthur J. Naparstek papers, 1962-2004, can be found at the
Western Reserve Historical Society
The Western Reserve Historical Society (WRHS) is a historical society in Cleveland, Ohio. The society operates the Cleveland History Center, a collection of museums in University Circle.
The society was founded in 1867, making it the oldest cul ...
in Cleveland, Ohio. The collection is of value to researchers studying ethnicity and class in American neighborhoods,
urban policy
Urban planning, also known as town planning, city planning, regional planning, or rural planning, is a technical and political process that is focused on the development and design of land use and the built environment, including air, water, ...
,
urban renewal
Urban renewal (also called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address urban decay in cities. Urban renewal involves the clearing out of blighte ...
,
philanthropy
Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...
,
higher education
Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after completi ...
administration, community service, and the Cleveland, Ohio, Jewish community, especially its involvement in the development of Israel. Materials in the collection focus on both the federal commitment to national urban renewal and, specifically, urban renewal in Cleveland. The collection also documents attempts by Jewish communal organizations to support absorbing and integrating disparate immigrant groups, like
Jewish Ethiopians, into Israeli society. Of particular note in the collection are the assessments and evaluations of the Hope VI local programs in urban regeneration and reports and evaluations concerning the challenges faced by Mayor Gary Hatcher of the city of Gary, Indiana.
Naparstek's impact on his community, his country and the State of Israel was summed up in a eulogy delivered by his friend and colleague, James O. Gibson of the
Rockefeller Foundation
The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The second-oldest major philanthropic institution in America, after the Carneg ...
:
To say that Art was a social worker would be to grossly oversimplify who he has and what he did. That would also be true of thinking of him solely as an urban policy scholar; or as a politically astute university professor; an entrepreneurial academic administrator; a nationally renowned antipoverty warrior; a shrewd Washington DC real estate speculator; a canny foundation executive; a highly effective rainmaker for the Urban Institute; one of the most astoundingly talented networkers who ever strode the earth — and that's before you mention champion of Israeli community-building, super Dad, doting husband, and friend extraordinaire.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Naparstek, Arthur
1938 births
2004 deaths
American social workers
20th-century American Jews
Brandeis University alumni
Case Western Reserve University faculty
Illinois Wesleyan University alumni
New York University alumni
People from Cleveland
21st-century American Jews
Mount Vernon High School (New York) alumni