Norman Fruchter (FAC)

Norman Fruchter, of Brooklyn, N.Y.; Jan. 4, caused by complications of injuries sustained when he was struck by a car on Dec. 22 while crossing the street near his home. After college, he taught high school students in England on a Fulbright scholarship before returning to Newark to join Tom Hayden and other political organizers from Students for a Democratic Society to teach high school. He then established the Newark Community Union Project and, with Robert Machover, filmed Troublemakers, a documentary film about civic action in Newark. He published two novels, Coat Upon a Stick and Single File. He founded and directed the Center for Education and Community at the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown prior to being appointed to the New York City Panel for Educational Policy, where he worked to guarantee that all students receive a sound basic education regardless of their race, ethnicity, class, or income. He founded and was director of the Institute for Education and Social Policy at NYU and headed the Ford Foundation’s National Dropout Prevention Program. He is survived by his wife, Heather; a daughter; a son; four grandchildren; four stepchildren; and four step-grandchildren.