Robert Luminansky

Class of 1933

He was the first U.S. Army Officer to enter and help liberate Paris from the Germans in 1944. After the war, he conceived the idea, then led a commission, to convince congress in 1965 to establish two National Agencies - National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and National Endowment of the Arts (NEA) whose mission is to make grants for education on behalf of the U.S. Government. Nationally known and respected, he was recognized as one of the nations foremost educators, serving as the top executive for some of the most prestigious academic organizations in the country. Additionally, he held the position of Provost at Tulane Graduate School and was Dean of the English Departments at Duke and University of Pennsylvania.