John Harry Niemeyer (May 23, 1908 – April 19, 2004)
[''The Way Will Open: A Study of the Presidency of Jack Niemeyer at Bank Street College of Education'']
- John S. Borden was the second president of
Bank Street College of Education and a leading educator and consultant to the
United States Office of Education. The college currently hosts the Niemeyer Series in his memory, which comprises lectures and
symposia that address current issues in the education community.
Niemeyer also became president of the
National Kindergarten Association
The National Kindergarten Association (NKA) was a philanthropic organization, based in the United States, which promoted universal acceptance of the public-school kindergarten. It existed between 1909 and 1976, and its headquarters was in New ...
in 1958.
Education
At age 16 he was sent to
Staunton Military Academy in
Virginia.
[
In 1930, Niemeyer graduated Phi Beta Kappa][ from Hamilton College in New York.]cerebral hemorrhage
Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as cerebral bleed, intraparenchymal bleed, and hemorrhagic stroke, or haemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain, into its ventricles, or into both. It is one kind of bleed ...
He also received a master's degree from Teachers College, Columbia University, in 1931.[
]
Career
Upon graduation, Niemeyer taught at Harley School
The Harley School is a college preparatory, independent day school in Rochester, New York, United States.
History
Founded in 1917 by Harriet Bentley, The Harley School was first called “The Children’s University School of Rochester.” The ...
in Rochester, New York, before becoming headmaster at Oak Lane Country School in Philadelphia.[
]
Bank Street College of Education presidency
During his seventeen years in office, Niemeyer oversaw the college's 1970 move from 69 Bank Street in Greenwich Village to its current location on West 112th Street in Morningside Heights
Morningside Heights is a neighborhood on the West Side of Upper Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by Morningside Drive to the east, 125th Street to the north, 110th Street to the south, and Riverside Drive to the west. Morningside ...
. Additionally, Bank Street's rapid growth since its 1950 genesis—before 1950, the college did not give Master of Science degrees—brought the institution to the attention of the federal government. As the Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 () is a landmark civil rights and United States labor law, labor law in the United States that outlaws discrimination based on Race (human categorization), race, Person of color, color, religion, sex, and nationa ...
reached its final stages before enactment, the United States Commissioner of Education asked Niemeyer to work closely with southern universities to create standards for desegregation programs. Bank Street faculty were also asked to help create the national Head Start Program and to shape regulations for Title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1965
The suffrage, Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of Federal government of the United States, federal legislation in the United States that prohibits racial discrimination in voting. It was signed into law by President of the United ...
. Niemeyer led the college through a national workshop for Head Start administrators and directed the establishment of Bank Street's 42nd Street Early Childhood Model Head Start Training Center.
Niemeyer's presidency is widely credited with Bank Street's evolution into an influential resource in the field of the education. The 1960s saw the development of Bank Street's Research Division and the Educational Resources Center, an initiative to aid in the education of students limited by segregation and or poverty. Niemeyer administered the publishing of the Bank Street Readers, the first multiracial
Mixed race people are people of more than one race or ethnicity. A variety of terms have been used both historically and presently for mixed race people in a variety of contexts, including ''multiethnic'', ''polyethnic'', occasionally ''bi-ethn ...
, topical education readers in the country. Under Niemeyer, the college also became a sponsor of Project Follow Through, helping to design its programming and to disseminate the Bank Street method to numerous United States schools.
Niemeyer received an honorary doctorate from the college in 1990.[
]
Author
In 1998, Niemeyer had published ''Rights & Responsibilities: My Years at Bank Street''. It was released to coincide with his 90th birthday.[Rights & Responsibilities: My Years at Bank Street]
- BankStreet.edu
Personal life
Niemeyer was born on May 23, 1908, in Scranton, Pennsylvania,[Paid Notice: Deaths NIEMEYER, JOHN H.]
- '' New York Times'', May 2, 2004 to Harry and Mary Belle, who were of German ancestry.[ He was their second child, after Jason.][
Niemeyer was married, firstly, to Marjorie Albertson from 1934.][ They had one child, daughter Nancy Niemeyer Rovin (1938–2019).][
He later married Rose Bello Niemeyer, who died four months after her husband.Paid Notice: Deaths NIEMEYER, ROSE BELLO]
- ''New York Times'', August 22, 2004
Niemeyer died on April 19, 2004, aged 95.
References
External links
Niemeyer Series
{{DEFAULTSORT:Niemeyer, John H.
1908 births
2004 deaths
People from Scranton, Pennsylvania
Presidents of Bank Street College of Education
Staunton Military Academy alumni
Hamilton College (New York) alumni
Teachers College, Columbia University alumni
University of Rochester alumni
Heads of schools in the United States
Bank Street College of Education alumni
20th-century American academics