Marvin G. Parnes, 74, died at home on March 13, 2024 after a prolonged illness. Born on June 3, 1949 to Leon and Susan Parnes in the Bronx, NY. Along with brothers Robert and Joseph, Marvin grew up in the thriving and diverse community along the Bronx’s Grand Concourse, not far from Yankee Stadium. He attended PS 90 George Meany Elementary School, Jordan Mott Junior High School, and was a scholarship student at the Fieldston Ethical Culture School in Riverdale, NY (class of 1966). Marvin was profoundly influenced by Fieldston’s ethical framework, which emphasized taking care of the world, of ourselves, and of each other—values that guided him in his relationships, work, and his community throughout his life.
After graduating in 1970 with a degree in English from the City College of New York, Marvin taught at DeWitt Clinton High School. Later, he became Assistant Director of CCNY’s House Plan Project, a community building program for CCNY’s commuting study body. In 1973, Marvin moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan to begin doctoral studies at University of Michigan’s joint program in social work and psychology. There, he met Jane Hassinger, by his own account the love of his life. They worked together at U-M’s Counseling Services beginning in 1974, married in 1981, and in 1984 became the ecstatic parents of daughter Joanna Hassinger Parnes.
Blessed with seemingly boundless curiosity and energy, his fascination with universities as laboratories for innovation and social change pulled him toward higher education management. In 1984, Marvin became Assistant Director for Educational Programs in U-M’s Housing Division, where he was responsible for programming and training of resident staff. As was true throughout his career, his interests were broad and diverse. His projects included a highly successful collaboration with Apple and U-M’s Computing Center that introduced computers into the residence hall system, aimed at building computer literacy across the student body. Other efforts focused on significant social issues included LGBTQ+ and gender-related concerns including sexual violence—work that contributed to the 1985 establishment of U-M’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center.
In 1986, Marvin was recruited to become Assistant to the Vice President for Research, Linda Wilson, PhD, U-M’s first woman executive officer. Later, as Associate Vice President (a position he held until 2013), Marvin helped to build the infrastructure for U-M’s research mission and made enduring contributions to U-M becoming one of the top research universities in the world. He assumed many leadership roles (he was known as the guy who had a three-page business card), including chair of OVPR’s Faculty Grants and Awards, Director of U-M’s Research Development and Research Administration, Director of Technology Transfer, and as a leader in several interuniversity collaborations, such as Michigan Initiatives for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Marvin was instrumental to the creation of many new scholarly projects, including the Institute for Research on Women and Gender, the Program in Complex Systems, the Business Engagement Center, the Institute for Research on Labor, Employment, and the Economy, and ArtsEngine. Marvin also was much involved on the national scene while serving various roles related to U-M’s Washington office, government commissions on research systems and ethics, and as a member of various NIH advisory boards, professional associations such as the Association of University Technology Managers, and board member for the Fraunhofer Institute and of PsiAN, the Psychotherapy Action Network.
In 2013, Marvin became Executive Director of the Institute for Social Research, a position he filled until his retirement in 2016. It was often fondly observed that he needed no last name at U-M—everyone knew Marvin.
Over his 42 years at U-M, Marvin’s genuine warmth, good humor, and unflagging encouragement was experienced by everyone he encountered. He took great pleasure in helping faculty in the arts and humanities to access research support and by bringing the arts into collaborations with academic disciplines across the university, such as the development of the ArtsEngine, the Arts Alliance of Research Universities (a2ru), and most recently as founding Interim Executive Director of U-M’s Arts Initiative.
Marvin was well known in the Ann Arbor community where his activities included serving as President of the Board of the Ann Arbor Chamber of Commerce (2005) and (his heartfelt labor of love) as President of the Board of the Ann Arbor Summer Festival (which he helped to keep fiscally sound during the Covid years). He was known to be a good citizen, a trusted collaborator, and a very hard worker.
But Marvin also loved to play. He enjoyed running, biking, hiking, and swimming. He was an enthusiastic Boy Scout (who favored being a senior patrol leader over an Eagle Scout) and a much-admired camp counselor for Upward Bound and at the Ethical Culture School Camp on Lake Otsego at Cooperstown. He led many camping trips up Mt. Marcy and into the Adirondacks. He and Jane spent their honeymoon on Mt. Desert Island, ME, a much-beloved place to which they returned yearly for several decades with Joanna, nephews Christopher and Bradley, and many wonderful friends.
Marvin enjoyed traveling. He accompanied Jane on several of her professional trips to support her projects (as driver, cook, U-M ambassador, and group facilitator) in South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. After Joanna and husband Alex settled in Oakland, California, and especially after the arrival of twins Cora Jane and Ruby Isabel (2018), the Bay Area became the destination of choice. Up until Marvin’s last illness, Baba and Gima spent as much time as they could with their adored granddaughters.
And Marvin especially loved to play in the kitchen and was an excellent cook. He said that he learned to cook after moving from NYC to Ann Arbor and was dismayed to find so few good ethnic restaurants. After they married, he quickly took control of the kitchen (with Jane’s total approval) and countless dinner parties and family celebrations followed (Passover Seders, Christmas…) and filled their home with heavenly aromas, much fun, and laughter—many will also remember that Marvin was a terrible/wonderful punster.
Marvin naturally communicated a deep sense of respect and affection for people. He was deeply admired and loved by his family, his close friends, neighbors, and colleagues. He often recalled his mother telling him as a boy that “every person matters.” Everyone did matter to Marvin, up to and including the caretakers he came to love during his illness, all of whom expressed genuine delight in being with him. For all who knew and loved him, he leaves a huge space that will not be soon filled and many accomplishments that will not be forgotten.
Marvin is survived by his wife Jane, daughter Joanna Parnes and son-in-law Alex Klein, granddaughters Cora Jane Klein and Ruby Isabel Klein, brother Robert Parnes (Gwen), Joey Parnes (Ellen Tattelman), sister-in law Sara Hassinger (John Owens), brother-in-law Don Hassinger (Annette), nephews Matthew Parnes, Christopher Hassinger (Elizabeth Heyn), Bradley Hassinger (Christine), EJ Owens; and Noah Parnes; nieces Ava Parnes (Jamie Green), Greta Parnes, and Samantha Janiszak (Steven). Marvin’s family has planned a memorial celebration on June 2, 2024 at the University of Michigan Union’s Pendleton Room, 3:30–5:30 p.m. Memorial gifts in his honor can be made to the University of Michigan’s Arts Initiative or the Ann Arbor Summer Festival, endeavors to which Marvin was especially devoted.
