Jul. 16, 2014:  Longtime faculty member Hyman Kleinman, who taught literature at Sarah Lawrence College from 1960 through 1984 and then continued to enthrall students from the local community with his knowledge and love of literature through the Friends of the Library for another 30 years, died on July 9, 2014, at the age of 100. 

In 2006, on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the Friends, a group that supports the library and serves as a link between the college and the surrounding community, he was presented with an honorary doctorate of humane letters by then-president Michele Myers.

Kleinman was fond of a quotation from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales that he said described himself well: "And gladly would he learn and gladly teach."

In addition to his teaching, Kleinman was a regular lecturer, delighting audiences at community adult education programs throughout Westchester County, including The Reformed Church of Bronxville.

The Kleinman Fellowship in Humanities, awarded to a recently tenured faculty member on a rotating basis, was named in his honor in 1999 by alumna Ella Foshay '69. 

The funeral took place on Sunday, July 13, at 1:00 pm at Congregation Sons of Israel, 1666 Pleasantville Road, in Briarcliff Manor, NY. Interment followed at Bethel Cemetery in Croton-on-Hudson. Shiva will be from Sunday through Thursday, July 13-17, from 3:00 to 5:00 pm and 7:00 to 9:00 pm, with a minyan service each night at 7:30 pm at the home of Paul and Sonia Kleinman at 71 Nordica Drive, Croton-on-Hudson, NY (phone number 914-271-9527).

In lieu of flowers, the family has asked that donations be made to the Friends of the Library at Sarah Lawrence College, the Peace Plantation Animal Sanctuary, where he adopted his beloved cat, Melissa, or a charity of the donor's choice.