Paul A. Kurzman, a longtime professor and one-time acting dean at Hunter’s Lois V. and Samuel J. Silberman School of Social Work, died October 17 in New York City.
An expert on the organization of nonprofits, social work education, and the delivery of human services, Kurzman had many years of practical experience at New York City agencies before he joined Hunter, including as the assistant commissioner of the New York City Youth Services Agency and interim executive director of the Lower East Side Neighborhood Association.
He joined Hunter in 1974 as an assistant professor and became a professor and chair of the World of Work practice sequence in 1981. He served as acting dean of the school in 2005–06.
“Paul was a truly extraordinary colleague — a dedicated, honorable, generous, grace-filled individual,” said Silberman Dean and Helen Rehr Endowed Professor Mary Cavanaugh. “He was the archetype of what one thinks of as a college professor. How fortunate we all are to have had Paul here at Hunter Silberman for 50 years. We are all the richer for it.”
A renowned author, editor, or co-editor of 13 books and many articles, Kurzman wrote several seminal textbooks, including Social Work Doctoral Education: Past, Present and Future, Work and Well-Being: The Occupational Social Work Advantage, and (with Richard L. Edwards) Leading and Managing Nonprofit Organizations.
Kurzman also was a national and international leader in professional organizations: president of the National Association of Social Work – New York City from 2004 to 2006; president of Hunter’s Faculty Delegate Assembly from 1994 to 1999; and editor-in-chief of the Journal of Teaching in Social Work from 2009 to 2023.
His activism earned him many awards, including the Hunter College Presidential Service Award in 2005, the Social Work Pioneer Designation of the National Association of Social Workers in 2006, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Association of Social Work–New York City in 2012, and the Shirley Chisholm Memorial Award from the Hamilton-Madison House in 2017.
A graduate of New York University, Columbia University, and Princeton University, he was inducted into the Alumni Hall of Fame of Columbia’s School of Social Work in 2013.
Kurzman retired from Hunter in 2023.
Kurzman is survived by his wife, Margaret; his son, David, and his daughter, Katherine.
