Served for 64 years as Pitt faculty member, administrator
Jerome “Jerry” Rosenberg was a man to whom commitment and integrity meant something.
In the history of the University of Pittsburgh, nobody served longer than Mr. Rosenberg, who spent an incredible 64 years as a faculty member and an administrator — and so much more.
His contributions to the university were unparalleled, said Pitt Chancellor Emeritus Mark Nordenberg.
“Jerry Rosenberg truly was extraordinary, a person with unbelievable intelligence and a seemingly inexhaustible supply of energy,” said Mr. Nordenberg, who served as chancellor from 1995-2014. “He came to Pitt as a chemistry professor and served as dean of the faculty of arts and sciences for 16 years. Then, as he reached what others might have considered to be retirement age, he completely reinvented himself by becoming Pitt’s chief research integrity officer. ... Jerry loved being a part of the university community, just as we all loved having his good cheer and inspiring example in our midst.”
Mr. Rosenberg, who moved from his longtime home in Squirrel Hill to Rockville, Md., four years ago, died Saturday of multiple organ failure.
He was just eight days shy of becoming a centenarian.
A member of the Manhattan Project and an awardwinning researcher, Mr. Rosenberg was a diverse man who was also instrumental in advancing Jewish causes, from his pivotal role in funding and building the
Israel Heritage Room at the Nationality Rooms in Pitt’s Cathedral of Learning to his tireless efforts in establishing and enhancing a Jewish studies department at the university.
Two of his favorite joys in life were reading and singing the Torah at the two synagogues he belonged to and serving as board chair in the education division of the United Jewish Federation.
The youngest of five children in an Orthodox Jewish family, Mr. Rosenburg grew up in Harrisburg, attending Hebrew school until 1937 when he graduated as valedictorian of his class.
In an oral history interview with the Pittsburgh section of the National Council of Jewish Women, he recalled his love for the violin as a boy — a passion that would stay with him, even in recent months.
“I started playing violin in third grade, and it became a lifetime love,” Mr. Rosenberg said in the May 1988 interview.
Over the years, he would play in orchestras before he discovered an affinity for chamber music with string quartets.
“His favorite was the Beethoven string quartets, but he played just about everything he could get his hands on,” said his son, Jonathan Rosenberg, of Silver Spring, Md.
Along with his four older siblings, Mr. Rosenberg attended nearby Dickinson College in Carlisle, Cumberland County.
“We all commuted every day in carpools the 18-mile distance from Harrisburg to Carlisle,” he said in the 1988 interview.
He graduated from Dickinson with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry in 1941, then earned a master’s degree from Columbia University three years later.
His graduate work at Columbia for a doctorate was interrupted in 1944 when Mr. Rosenberg was tapped by officials at the Manhattan Project during the development of the atom bomb. His work revolved around chemistry as it related to the diffusion process for separating uranium isotopes.
At Columbia, he met New York City native Shoshana Gabriel when he asked a friend at the Jewish Theological Seminary to set him up on a date. The two married in 1946. Mrs. Rosenberg died in 2017.
After earning his doctoral degree at Columbia in 1948, Mr. Rosenberg helped to create the department of biophysics at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel and accepted a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Chicago.
In 1953, he came to Pitt, where Mr. Rosenberg was hired as an assistant professor of chemistry, a role he continued in for 16 years.
Throughout his career, Mr. Rosenberg was at the forefront of emerging scientific disciplines, including chairing fledgling biophysics and microbiology departments at Pitt.
In the 1960s, he was elected vice president of the university senate, and by 1969, he became acting dean of the faculty of arts and sciences. The following year, he was appointed permanently to the position and served until 1986.
“When he turned 65, retirement was compulsory, and there were two or three months that he didn’t work. I remember it was the only time I saw him visibly age,” said his daughter, Judith Cohen, of Silver Spring, Md. “Then, he bounced right back after he was brought back as vice provost.”
Mr. Rosenberg served as vice provost until 1989 and also took on new roles at the university, where officials this week expressed sadness over his passing and highlighted his years as chief arbiter of fairness in research.
“He was a central figure in the founding of two important research protection units at Pitt. As research integrity officer, he established Pitt’s program of research integrity oversight and built it to be among the best and most respected such programs in the nation,” said a Pitt statement. “In 2003, he became the first chair of the Conflict of Interest Committee and guided the formation of the Conflict of Interest Office, an administrative unit that oversees COI disclosure and compliance for more than 10,000 university members.”
Mr. Rosenberg was called upon to investigate thorny issues, such as allegations of ethical lapses and misconduct, but he handled the roles with sensitivity and unflinching integrity, loved ones and colleagues said.
“What stands out for me is the devotion people had to him,” his daughter said. “He was uncompromising in his stance of honesty and truth. He never lost perspective of what was the right thing to do, and people had enormous respect for him.”
“He was a man of unquestionable integrity,” said his longtime friend and colleague Ralph Roskies, professor emeritus of physics and astronomy at Pitt. “He was a very conscientious person. If he said he was going to look into something, he always got back to you and looked into it.”
His friend also had a memory like a steel trap, recalled Mr. Roskies, who related a story about the time he met Mr. Rosenberg during an event for incoming faculty in 1972 where dozens of new hires were gathered.
“There must have been 50 of us new faculty members there,” he said. “Three days later, I ran into him on campus, and he said, ‘ Good morning. How are you, Dr. Roskies?’ And I thought to myself, he must have photos of us — that’s how he remembered me, but while I was thinking about that, he said, ‘And how is [his wife] Dodi enjoying Pittsburgh?’ Oh my God! I couldn’t believe it. The man had an incredible memory.”
Alex Orbach, retired professor of religion and Jewish studies at Pitt, credited Mr. Rosenberg with helping to create and expand the Jewish studies program at the university, including personally funding an endowment with his wife.
“Jerome Rosenberg was really the creator of the Jewish studies program at the University of Pittsburgh,” he said. “He really committed himself personally and financially.”
The Perlow-Rosenberg Fellowship in Classical Judaism was endowed in 2017, establishing a new tenuretrack position in the department of religious studies.
“Jerry shaped the minds of generations of young scholars, leaving an indelible mark on society,” the university statement said.
A lover of travel and a tennis fanatic, Mr. Rosenberg was a skilled player who even defeated his grandchildren in a doubles match when he was 95 years old.
“He couldn’t move around much, but he hit every ball perfectly,” his son recalled.
Mr. Rosenberg was also a prodigious reader who could multitask in sometimes terrifying ways.
“He was a guy who was supremely organized, and he never wasted a minute,” Mr. Roskies said. “He would walk along Fifth Avenue to work every day, and as he walked, he would be reading a book the entire way.”
His daughter confirmed the story.
“Our mother was petrified,” she said, laughing.
Along with his children, Mr. Rosenberg is survived by six grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
His funeral was Monday, and the family will observe shiva through Sunday morning.
Memorial contributions are suggested to the charity of your choice.