Fall 2011
Obituaries
Neil L. Selinger ’75, Longtime CCAA Board Member
Neil
L. Selinger ’75, a writer and retired attorney and former v.p. of student
affairs for the Columbia College Alumni Association (CCAA),
died on July 9, 2011. He was 57 and lived in Larchmont,
N.Y. Selinger earned a J.D. from NYU and practiced law as a partner
with Lowey, Dannenberg, Bemporad, and Selinger from 1976 until his
retirement in 2007. After retiring, Selinger published a memoir about
his experiences growing up in an immigrant family in central New
Jersey, A Sloan Product: A Memoir of a Lost Boy (2011). He recently
had completed a collection of essays about living with ALS (“Lou
Gehrig’s Disease”), yet unpublished.
Selinger was tirelessly passionate about Bruce Springsteen and the New York Yankees and counted travel among his favorite indulgences. He was a two-decade member of the CCAA and was the v.p. of student affairs for a decade. In May, at Commencement, the University recognized Selinger with an Alumni Medal, given to acknowledge distinguished service to the University of 10 or more years.
His daughter, Hannah ’02, wrote an essay on him, “Living the Life Unexpected,” in the March/April issue.
Selinger is survived by his mother, Helen; wife, Rima Grad; and daughters, Hannah ’02, Emily ’12 and Julia ’15. Memorial contributions may be made to the ALS division of the Muscular Dystrophy Association.
Lisa Palladino