Alumnus hopes historical lessons boost civic engagement

As a young immigrant who narrowly avoided being sent to Auschwitz by fleeing Nazi-occupied Belgium and Vichy France for New York City, Fred Rubinstein '52, LLB '55, knows very well what America - at its best - can offer.

"The opportunities available, the ease with which I went from French-speaking immigrant to graduate and practicing lawyer and where I am today, is really an exemplar of what this country has available to people who have the willingness, the desire, the ambition to take advantage of it," he said.

In that spirit of gratitude and generosity, and his wish to honor his late wife's dedication to civic engagement, Rubinstein recently endowed the Susan August Rubinstein Professorship in the Department of Government in the College of Arts and Sciences.

"Susan always advocated for the teaching of civics in high schools and the availability of information about government to the normal populace," he said. "The notion of memorializing her with a professorship of government, particularly at Cornell, seemed like a great idea to pay tribute to her, but also to continue her efforts in the direction of good government and government involvement."

"We are deeply grateful for Fred Rubinstein's gift, given in honor of his wife and her commitment to a better public square and better citizens. We share this mission in the College of Arts and Sciences," said Peter John Loewen, the Harold Tanner Dean of Arts and Sciences. "The College is committed to the public good and to the creation of citizens ready to solve society's biggest problems in a way that is tolerant, pluralistic and curious. Gifts like this one allow us to hire and retain stellar faculty committed to this mission."

After settling with his family on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in 1942, Rubinstein attended the Bronx High School of Science. Top marks on the New York State Regents exam landed him a scholarship to Cornell. The campus that Rubinstein arrived at in 1949 was not antagonistic towards Jewish students, but it was not always inclusive, either.

"There were 10 or 11 all-Jewish fraternities, and there were probably 40 or more other fraternities, none of which, to my knowledge, admitted one Jew," he said. "It became rather clear that campus was divided into two camps: a little Jewish camp and a big non-Jewish camp. But everybody seemed to accept it as routine."

More than 75 years later, that climate is very different.

"I support Cornell because I see the change from 1949 and the greater universality of the university. That is, at least I sense, the greater openness to diversity. At one time, I think nobody worried about diversity of Jewish students," he said. "Antisemitism has reared its ugly head again, and it's important, at least from my point of view, to address that at its early stages and to maintain this country as a country of people of equal opportunity and nondiscrimination, and with a chorus of trumpets and trombones in the background."

After earning a bachelor of arts in history, Rubinstein attended Cornell Law School. But upon graduating, he found that law firms were not eager to hire someone who could still technically be drafted into the Korean War, and that many firms would not hire Jewish people. Rubinstein bid his time by working as a movie theater usher and elevator operator.

One quiet afternoon, while he was still an usher, a distinguished older gentleman wearing a Homburg hat and Chesterfield coat bought a movie ticket for $1.35 - pricey back then. But instead of letting Rubinstein escort him into the theater, he went downstairs to use the men's restroom and then left, without watching the film. That man, Rubenstein's manager informed him, was Myron Taylor, the Cornell benefactor whose $1.5 million gift helped build the law school as it exists today.

"The irony obviously struck me: Cornell lawyer standing with a flashlight in hand, watching the founder of the law school walk past him," Rubinstein said. "I had to resist the urge to run down Park Avenue shouting after him, 'But I'm a lawyer, I'm a lawyer!'"

Eventually, Rubinstein was hired by an insurance defense firm - which, at $46 a week, paid less than his elevator operator job - and then moved into corporate law, representing venture capital firms investing in the emerging tech sector. Now retired from Kelley Drye & Warren LLP, Rubinstein focuses on philanthropy. His efforts have supported Law School students working at nonprofits and government agencies, and graduates pursuing public-interest careers, as well as Cornell Tech entrepreneurs whose businesses aim to provide health or educational benefits and serve the public good.

Rubinstein, whose granddaughter, Ava, is currently a freshman in A&S, hopes today's students not only learn about civic engagement, but actively embrace it.

"I hope there is more awareness of what is going on in this country, and more reaction and more desire to be involved and to articulate, communicate, participate," he said. "If we can improve the public forum, we're likely to have more of a movement toward fairness and thoughtfulness."