Vincent Boudreau
Dear Members of the City College Community,
I am deeply saddened to report that Dr. David Rumschitzki, of the Chemical Engineering Department, has passed away. He spent his last minutes as he spent much of the past 40 years—in his office, among friends, working to advance the educational careers of students and to develop his own profoundly innovative engineered contributions to human progress.
David came to CCNY in 1983 and so leaves our community as one of its longest serving and most engaged members. His research and teaching career led him to work on questions regarding the chemical processing of cholesterol in the blood, with a particular interest in how different cells engage the process of maintaining cholesterol homeostasis.
David’s interest in arterial health was both professional and personal. He was one of the most assiduous stewards of his own health that I’ve ever met. As late as yesterday, he was preparing to run in the NY Marathon. He ran, exercised, rode his bike for transportation and recreation and restricted his diet to vegetarian foods. He literally threw himself into his work, and his personal commitment to discovering pathways to better health was evident in his every professional contribution.
On campus, he was legendary for his stewardship of student research, his engagement with student clubs and his participation in faculty committees, including this year and in years past, in the executive committee of the faculty senate.
Those who knew David best understood that he drew no distinction between his personal and professional life: many people say this, but for David, CCNY was his home and we were all his family. CCNY and the Grove School will not be the same without David among us.
We have been notified by Professor David Rumschitzki's sister, Pamela Grossman, that the funeral service for David will take place at:
Mount Moriah Cemetery, 685 Fairview Ave, Fairview, NJ 07022 at 2:30 PM today (https://mountmoriahcemeterynj.org/)
We will put together a memorial event in the coming weeks and will communicate particulars about that.
Sincerely,
Vince Boudreau
President