Donald Blun Straus (June 28, 1916–September 3, 2007) was an American

educator A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

and an executive in public service. Straus, who held A.B. and M.B.A. degrees from Harvard University, served as president of the

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, executive vice president of the Health Insurance Plan of Greater New York, chair of the

Planned Parenthood The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is a nonprofit organization that provides reproductive health care in the United States and globally. It is a tax-exempt corporation under Internal Reve ...

Federation of America, and a trustee of the

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (CEIP) is a nonpartisan international affairs think tank headquartered in Washington D.C. with operations in Europe, South and East Asia, and the Middle East as well as the United States. Founded in ...

and the Institute for Advanced Study. An early advocate of online education and public referendums via computers and the Web, he taught an online course in "Democracy in the 21st Century" for Connected Education in the late-1980s and early-1990s. He served as faculty associate and was a life trustee at the College of the Atlantic in Maine.

Biography

Straus was born in Middletown, New Jersey, the son of Edith (née Abraham) and Percy Selden Straus. His paternal grandparents —

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and Isidor Straus — died on the Titanic, allowing others to take their place on the lifeboats. Isidor was a co-founder of Macy's department store in New York City, and Percy — Donald's father — was President of the landmark New York store. His maternal grandfather was retailing magnate Abraham Abraham, founder of Abraham & Straus department store. Straus married Elizabeth Allen in 1940; they had three children: David Allen Straus, Robert Beckwith Straus, and Sara Straus Byruck. Straus died in

Mount Desert, Maine Mount Desert is a New England town, town on Mount Desert Island in Hancock County, Maine, Hancock County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,146 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Incorporated in 1789, the town currently enc ...

References

20th-century American educators 2007 deaths Harvard University alumni 1916 births 20th-century American Jews College of the Atlantic faculty College of the Atlantic people Harvard Business School alumni Straus family Abraham family 21st-century American Jews {{US-edu-bio-stub