Oscar Harkavy

One of the best and brightest slipped away on Friday, September 20,2019 after gracing the lives of all those fortunate enough to have fallen within his ambit, with his generosity, affability, wit and considerable intellect. He leaves behind his beloved wife of sixty-nine years, Frances, his two sons, Stephen (Jean), John (Leslie), whose antics he more than tolerated, and three grand-daughters, Nina, Ali and Amanda, whom he adored and inspired. He was born in Manhattan on May 28th, 1923, to Jacob and Anna. He attended the Fieldston School, Columbia University and obtained a Ph.D. in economics from Syracuse University. He taught at the business school until he was induced to take a one year leave of absence to join the Ford Foundation, where he would be employed for the next thirty-five years. He initially worked on and was a major contributor to the modernization of business school curricula. He was then told “to do population”, so he created and directed what would become a very influential program in the population movement and steered its focus to women’s and children’s health. After retirement from the Ford Foundation, he consulted at the Population Council and became Chairman of the Board of the Population Resource Council. He is the author of Curbing Population Growth, An Insiders Perspective On The Population Movement. He was an avid tennis player, a writer of humorous short fiction, and an unparalleled wordsmith. He was beloved by all who knew him and will be sadly missed.