Henry Koffler (born Heinrich Koffler; September 17, 1922 – March 10, 2018) was an Austrian-born American scientist, academic and artist.
Early life
Koffler was born in
Vienna, Austria
en, Viennese
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. In 1939, at the age of 17, he emigrated by himself to the United States. The second recipient of the International Scholar by the
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory.
T ...
, Koffler received his B.S. degree in Agricultural Chemistry in 1943 from the
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory.
T ...
, and from the
University of Wisconsin
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...
, his M.S. in Microbiology in 1944 and Ph.D. in Microbiology and Biochemistry in 1947.
Purdue, University of Minnesota, University of Massachusetts Amherst
In 1947 he became an assistant professor of bacteriology at
Purdue University
Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...
and was rapidly promoted to a full professorship in 1952 – then the youngest full professor at Purdue. In 1953 he held a
Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the ar ...
at Western Reserve University medical school and in 1957 was awarded the Eli Lilly Award in Bacteriology and Immunology from the American Society of Bacteriology (now Microbiology).
From 1959–1975, Koffler served as Purdue University's Head of Biological Sciences, a department that he brought to international prominence. In 1974 he was appointed a Frederick L. Hovde Distinguished Professor of Biology. During his tenure at Purdue until 1975, his research concentrated on the physiology and biochemistry of microorganisms. His ability to identify, recruit, and help develop promising scientists, and to successfully build and lead intellectual enterprises, became widely known. This led to his appointments as Vice-President for Academic Affairs at the
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...
in 1975, Chancellor of the
University of Massachusetts Amherst
The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst, UMass) is a public research university in Amherst, Massachusetts and the sole public land-grant university in Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded in 1863 as an agricultural college, it ...
in 1979, leaving in 1982 to become the President of The University of Arizona.
University of Arizona
Koffler served as President of
The University of Arizona
The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory.
Th ...
from 1982–1991, the first alumnus of the University of Arizona to hold the position. Building on the successful presidencies of Richard Harvill and John Schaefer, creators of the modern University of Arizona, Koffler presided over the growth of the University during 1982–1991, which led to the election of the University of Arizona into the highly selective
Association of American Universities
The Association of American Universities (AAU) is an organization of American research universities devoted to maintaining a strong system of academic research and education. Founded in 1900, it consists of 63 universities in the United States ( ...
, and to the
National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the United States government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National I ...
national ratings in 1991 as 20th in Research and Development among all (private and public) American institutions and as 15th among public universities. These achievements were partly fueled during his presidency through the recruitment of approximately 700 faculty members and other professionals. There was an increase in the ethnic and gender diversity of the University, with a 94 percent increase of minority faculty members, a 118 percent increase in women faculty members, and a 123 percent increase in minority students. State funding almost doubled, R&D expenditures increased almost 150 percent, university facilities were expanded almost 60 percent, and 34 research centers were created.
Koffler received numerous recognitions for his contributions to the universities, professional groups, and communities that he served. He was a Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology since its founding in 1955 and received honorary doctorates from Purdue University in 1977 and from the University of Arizona and Amherst College in 1981. Purdue University established the Henry Koffler Distinguished Professorship in 1996 and the University of Arizona's Chemistry-Biology Building was named the Henry Koffler Building in 2000,. He also received the University of Arizona Alumni Association's 2001 Alumni Achievement Award.
Koffler Prize
In 2001 the University of Arizona established the annual Koffler Prizes, through Henry and Phyllis Koffler to recognize outstanding accomplishments in the areas of teaching, research/scholarship/creative activity, or public service/outreach.
Retirement
Academy Village and Arizona Senior Academy
In 1991 Koffler conceived th
Arizona Senior Academyand th
Academy Villageretirement community in 1991 for professionals over the age of 55 who want to continue living an active life of academic and creative pursuits, and contribution to their local and global communities.
Art career
Koffler's interest in the visual arts, and in sculpture, ballet, and architecture began as a child when he attended many of Vienna's cultural offerings in music and theatre with his mother. During his 1953–54 sojourn as a Guggenheim Fellow in Cleveland, he became a conspicuous presence in the Cleveland Museum of Art, where he became acquainted with the Curator of Prints and Drawings, Leona Prasse, who sparked his interest in the visual arts. After his return to Purdue, Koffler became acquainted wit
Rudy Pozzatti a leading printmaker in America and Distinguished Professor at Indiana University. His friendship with Pozzatti began his habit of collecting art and visiting galleries and museums. Consequently, he became well acquainted with prehistoric and primitive art, as well as modern German, French, Mexican, Japanese, and American art.
Koffler admired the painters of the American abstract expressionism movement that began in the 1940s, especially
Mark Tobey
Mark George Tobey (December 11, 1890 – April 24, 1976) was an American painter. His densely structured compositions, inspired by Asian calligraphy, resemble Abstract expressionism, although the motives for his compositions differ philosophi ...
,
Jackson Pollock
Paul Jackson Pollock (; January 28, 1912August 11, 1956) was an American painter and a major figure in the abstract expressionist movement. He was widely noticed for his " drip technique" of pouring or splashing liquid household paint onto a hor ...
,
Paul Jenkins, and
Helen Frankenthaler
Helen Frankenthaler (December 12, 1928 – December 27, 2011) was an American abstract expressionist painter. She was a major contributor to the history of postwar American painting. Having exhibited her work for over six decades (early 1950s u ...
, who influenced him significantly when, in 2013, he turned from appreciating to creating art. In 2013 at the age of 90, during a long recuperation from emergency surgery, Koffler began a career in art. Using his iPad to do abstract digital images, Koffler created thousands of digital paintings, had several art shows, and launched th
Henry Koffler Artwebsite.
Koffler Art Exhibitions
* ''Magical World of Henry Koffler's Abstract Art'', May 21 – October 31, 2014, University of Arizona Tech Parks Arizona. First solo exhibition. Se
University of Arizona Tech Parks ArizonaSee paintings from the show.
* ''SAACA 2015 Spring Exhibition'', April 23 – July 14, 2015, Ventana Medical Systems
Ventana Medical Systems, Inc. was a medical device company that develops, manufactures, and markets instrument reagent systems that automate tissue and slide staining in anatomic pathology laboratories. These products assist in the diagnosis and t ...
, Tucson, Arizona. Se
SAACA announcement
an
web page
See paintings from the show.
* ''University of Arizona Leaders of Eminence Develop into Artists of Distinction'', May 5 – December 31, 2015, law firm of Mesch, Clark, & Rothschild, Tucson, Arizona. See th
See paintings from the show.
* ''Art in the Park'', January 25 – March 29, 2017, University of Arizona Tech Parks Arizona
* ''95!'', January 14 – March 15, 2018, Tucson Jewish Community Center, Tucson, Arizona
Death
Koffler died on March 10, 2018 in Tucson, Arizona at age 95. His wife of 71 years, Phyllis (Pierson) Koffler, died on March 31, 2019 in Tucson, Arizona at age 97.
Academic career
* 1943: B.S., University of Arizona
* 1944: M.S., University of Wisconsin
* 1947: Ph.D., University of Wisconsin
* 1947: Assistant Professor of Bacteriology, Purdue University
* 1952: Professor, Purdue University
* 1959–1975: Head of Biological Sciences, Purdue
* 1975–1979: Vice-President for Academic Affairs, University of Minnesota
* 1979–1982: Chancellor, University of Massachusetts Amherst
* 1982–1991: President, University of Arizona
Honors
* 1953: Guggenheim Fellowship, Western Reserve University School of Medicine
* 1955: Fellow, American Academy for Microbiology
* 1957:
Eli Lilly Award in Bacteriology and Immunology,
Society of American Bacteriologists (now named the American Society for Microbiology)
* 1974: Frederick L. Hovde Distinguished Professor of Biological, Purdue University
* 1977: Honorary doctorate, D.Sc., University of Purdue
* 1977: Chevalier, Ordre des Palmes Académiques
* 1979: Board of Regents citation, University of Minnesota
* 1981: Honorary doctorate, D.Sc., University of Arizona
* 1981: Honorary doctorate, LL.D., Amherst College
* 1982: Board of Regents citation, Court of Massachusetts
* 1991: Board of Regents citation, University of Arizona
* 2001: Alumni Achievement Award, University of Arizona
* 2016: Portraits of Excellence award, University of Arizona Hispanic Alumni Club
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Koffler, Henry
1922 births
2018 deaths
Scientists from Vienna
Artists from Vienna
Austrian emigrants to the United States
University of Arizona alumni
University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Letters and Science alumni
University of Minnesota people
Presidents of the University of Arizona
Leaders of the University of Massachusetts Amherst
Recipients of the Ordre des Palmes Académiques