Alan Pifer, 84; Carnegie Corp. Foundation Chief, Education Official
Alan Pifer, 84, a past president of Carnegie Corp. of New York, one of the nation’s largest foundations, died Oct. 31 of age-related dementia at a long-term care facility in Shelburne, Vt.
Pifer joined Carnegie as vice president in 1963 and served as acting president from 1965 to 1967. He assumed the presidency in 1967 and held the post till 1982.
Under his 17-year leadership, the corporation’s grant-making strategies began to center on preventing educational disadvantage, promoting educational opportunity and broadening opportunities in higher education.
Born in Boston, Pifer graduated from Harvard and did graduate work at the University of Cambridge in England. He served in the Army during World War II and was a captain at his discharge in 1946.
Pifer was a founding fellow of the African Studies Assn., a member of the Management Committee for the U.S.-South Africa Leader Exchange Program and a trustee of the African American Institute.
He was chairman of President-elect Nixon’s Task Force on Education, the Mayor’s Advisory Committee for the Board of Higher Education of New York City, and the Education Task Force of the New York Urban Coalition. He also was a director of the Federal Reserve Bank in New York.
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