Simon Dinitz Obituary (2007)

Simon Dinitz, 80, of Bexley, died March 3, 2007. Simon, known to his friends and family as Sy, was born in New York City on Oct. 29, 1926, to Morris and Dinah Dinitz. He earned his M.A. and Ph.D degrees at the University of Wisconsin. Sy married Mildred Stern in 1949, and they moved to Columbus in 1951 when he was offered a faculty position in the Department of Sociology at The Ohio State University. He taught at OSU for over forty years, retiring as professor emeritus in 1991. He was also a visiting professor at universities in California, Wisconsin, Florida, Kentucky, Vermont, Texas, and Pennsylvania, and taught and did research in Israel on numerous occasions. He traveled in connection with his work to places as varied as Scotland, Italy, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, India, and Australia. Sy authored and co-authored 16 books on sociology, criminology, criminal justice and mental health, and published over 120 professional journal articles and book chapters. He received awards too numerous to mention. He was the first person to receive all three of Ohio State’s top awards: The OSU Distinguished Teaching Award (1970), Distinguished Research Award (1979), and Distinguished Service Award (1996). He received the American Psychiatric Association’s Hofheimer Prize for Research, the American Society of Criminology’s Sutherland Award, and the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences’ Bruce Smith Award. In 1981, he was honored to be chosen as the first OSU faculty member to deliver an OSU Commencement address. He served as president of the American Society of Criminology and of the North Central Sociological Association, and as editor-in-chief of Criminologica, the official journal of the American Society of Criminology. Featured in the Chicago Tribune as one of the Big Ten’s “Ten Most Exciting Teachers,” Sy was electrifying in the classroom. Of his many scholarly achievements, Sy perhaps took the most personal satisfaction in serving as advisor to 39 doctoral students, many of whom became part of his extended family. Sy used his expertise to serve the state of Ohio and the nation on numerous occasions. He served on 5 blue-ribbon committees on corrections, chairing the Governor’s Task Force on Prison Overcrowding from 1984-86 and the Governor’s Task Force that investigated the April 1993 Lucasville riot. He also served as consultant to the United Nations Social Defense Research Institute on Crime Prevention and Treatment of Offenders. He served on the boards of Alvis House, Buckeye Boys’ Ranch, Jewish Family Services, and OSU Hillel. Sy was a member of Congregation Tifereth Israel for over forty years, and frequently gave public lectures at Tifereth Israel, Temple Israel, and the Jewish Community Center. A man who always put family first, he took great joy in the achievements of his children and grandchildren. He will be remembered by family and friends for his sharp wit, keen sense of humor, kindness, and generosity. Sy is preceded in death by parents Morris and Dinah Dinitz, and by his beloved wife, Mildred Dinitz. He is survived by son and daughter-in-law, Jeff and Sue Dinitz of Hinesburg, VT; daughters and sons-in-law, Thea and Mervyn Bloom of San Antonio, TX, and Risa and Alan Lazaroff of Worthington, OH; grandchildren, Mike, Amy, and Tom Dinitz, Craig, Bradley, and Kira Bloom, and Sam and Marissa Lazaroff; brother and sister-in-law Leon and Shirley Dinitz of New York, NY; and brother-in-law Charles Stern of Brooklyn, NY. Funeral service 2 PM Monday, March 5 at THE EPSTEIN MEMORIAL CHAPEL, 3232 E. Main Street, Rabbi Harold Berman and Cantor Jack Chomsky officiating. Burial to follow at New Tifereth Israel Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorials to The Mildred and Simon Dinitz Graduate Fellowship Fund, The Ohio State University, 2400 Olentangy River Rd., Cols., OH 43210, or to donor’s favorite charity.