Dear campus community,Dear campus community,
We have some sad news to share with the Ithaca College community, as former member of the board of trustees Kurt Wolfgruber ’72 passed away on June 17 after battling cancer for the past several months.
On behalf of the college, we want to convey our condolences to Kurt’s family, especially his wife, Kim, and his children, Derek, Christian, Hayley, and Heidi. We also offer our sympathies to his many IC friends and colleagues who had the pleasure of working with Kurt, during both his decade of service on the board from 2007 to 2017 and in his many college-related activities.
The two of us had the opportunity to get to know Kurt well when he served on the presidential search committee, and we appreciated his constructive input during that process. His other board roles over the years included chairing the Trusteeship, Enrollment and Communications, and Investment Committees.
Kurt originally came to IC to study chemistry but switched his major to economics. An excellent all-around athlete, he played on the baseball team and later said his experience as a student-athlete was an important part of his development. As a member of the Athletics and Events Center National Committee that helped raise funds for the college’s largest-ever building project, he would “pay it forward,” ensuring that future generations of IC student-athletes would benefit from the signature facility.
Kurt spent his professional career in the investment industry, starting as a research analyst at JP Morgan Investment Management and rising to become president and chief investment officer at Oppenheimer Funds, Inc. In recent years, he was owner of his own investment advising firm, Piper Hill Partners, LLC, and served as a director of New Mountain Finance and a trustee for Exchange Traded Concepts.
Putting his expertise to good use on behalf of both Ithaca College and the broader community, Kurt was a member of the School of Business Investment Advisory Board, and among his leadership roles in charitable causes he chaired the board of directors of Voices of September 11th, the primary advocacy organization for victims of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Though he departed the board of trustees in May of 2017, we were so happy that Kurt remained connected with the college, attending the Weekend on South Hill events the following November, which included the IC125 Community Celebration and presidential inauguration ceremony.
Services will be held on Tuesday, June 25, at 11:00 a.m. at Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church, 921 Madison Avenue in Manhattan.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be sent to Voices of September 11th, Southampton Fresh Air Home, or Peconic Baykeeper.
Kurt was kind, positive, and giving in all ways, and he will be deeply missed.
With warm regards,
David Lissy ’87, Chair, Ithaca College Board of Trustees
Shirley M. Collado, President, Ithaca College
https://www.ithaca.edu/intercom/article.php/20190621103746222