Joseph Frankel Rosenfield (May 16, 1904 – June 7, 2000) was an American lawyer and businessman. Rosenfield graduated from

Grinnell College Grinnell College is a private liberal arts college in Grinnell, Iowa, United States. It was founded in 1846 when a group of New England Congregationalists established the Trustees of Iowa College. Grinnell has the fifth highest endowment-to-st ...

in 1925 and earned a J.D. from the

University of Iowa College of Law The University of Iowa College of Law is the law school of the University of Iowa, located in Iowa City, Iowa. It was founded in 1865. Iowa is ranked the 28th-best law school in the United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or U ...

in 1928. He practiced law with a

Des Moines Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...

law firm until 1947. Upon the death of his father Meyer Rosenfield in 1929, Rosenfield became the head of

Younkers Younkers Inc. is an American online retailer and former department store chain founded as a family-run dry goods business in 1856 in Keokuk, Iowa. The retailer had evolved over more than 150 years to include a presence in locations throughout Iowa ...

department store, which had merged with his family's retail business, and retired in 1964 as president and chairman of the board. His work for

Harold Hughes Harold Everett Hughes (February 10, 1922 – October 23, 1996) was the 36th Governor of Iowa from 1963 until 1969, and a United States senator from Iowa from 1969 until 1975. He began his political career as a Republican but changed his affil ...

' election landed him on the

master list of Nixon political opponents Master or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles * Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans *Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...

. Rosenfield and his sister,

Louise Noun Louise Frankel Rosenfield Noun (March 7, 1908 – August 23, 2002) was a feminist, social activist, philanthropist, and civil libertarian. An Iowa native, Noun wrote extensively on the history of feminism in Iowa and the United States, writi ...

, helped finance the ''

Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District ''Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District'', 393 U.S. 503 (1969), was a landmark decision by the United States Supreme Court that defined First Amendment rights of students in U.S. public schools. The ''Tinker'' test, also ...

'' to promote free speech among students protesting the Vietnam War. His friendships with

Warren Buffett Warren Edward Buffett ( ; born August 30, 1930) is an American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. He is currently the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. He is one of the most successful investors in the world and has a net w ...

and

Robert Noyce Robert Norton Noyce (December 12, 1927 – June 3, 1990), nicknamed "the Mayor of Silicon Valley", was an American physicist and entrepreneur who co-founded Fairchild Semiconductor in 1957 and Intel Corporation in 1968. He is also credited wit ...

were key factors in the growth of Grinnell College's endowment during his time as a Grinnell College trustee. Buffett described Rosenfield as an "extraordinarily generous and smart man" and father figure: "I'd never have wanted to replace my real father—but if after my dad's death I could have adopted Joe as my father, I would have."CNNMoney

June 1, 2000. In addition, Rosenfield was at one time chief minority stakeholder in the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

. The Joe Rosenfield '25 Center at Grinnell College acts as a general campus center, containing the student cafeteria, administrative offices, and classrooms.

References

External links

*Dann Hayes (June 8, 2000)
Grinnell College trustee, Joseph Frankel Rosenfield, dies.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rosenfield, Joseph F. 1904 births 2000 deaths People from Iowa American people of German-Jewish descent Grinnell College alumni University of Iowa College of Law alumni Iowa lawyers 20th-century American lawyers