URSULA SPRINGER PhD

SPRINGER--Ursula, PhD. (1922-2014), owner and president of Springer Publishing Company from 1970 - 2004, died peacefully on Sunday near her home in Tuxedo, NY. After the death of her husband Bernhard Springer in 1970, she left her position of Professor of Education at Brooklyn College to take over the publishing company that he had founded in 1950. As a publisher, she continued her husband's development of books in psychology and nursing, and laid the ground work for innovative publications in the fields of gerontology, social work, public health, and rehabilitation that helped to expand these health and mental health sciences. She mentored and groomed innumerable future scholars, authors, educators, and practitioners and respected those who brought their knowledge to her publishing endeavors. The company continues to thrive today. Serving 34 years as owner and president of Springer Publishing Company, Ursula Springer was elected a member of the Board of Directors of the American Publishers Association. She received honorary membership in the honor society in nursing, Sigma Theta Tau, the Gerontological Society of America, and some regional groups. She became the first honorary fellow in the newly established American Academy of Nursing. In 2004, Dr. Springer established The Ursula Springer Leadership Professor in Nursing Chair in the College of Nursing, New York University. She was also an active supporter of the American Association for Aging Research (AFAR), the Goethe-Institut New York, and The Wagner Society of New York with whom she established the Ursula Springer Endowed Fund. Dr. Ursula Springer's commitment to education, social justice, and philanthropy was influential beyond the publishing world. Her work and vision was inspiring, as it will continue for generations to come. Ursula Springer is predeceased by her husband, Bernhard Springer, and sister, Dorothea Yale, and is survived by her brother, Walter Pietzschmann, and nephew, Cornelius Grossmann. A small service will be held, Friday, April 4 at 2:30pm, St. Elizabeth's Chapel, Tuxedo Park, NY. Plans for a memorial celebration will be announced at a later date. Charitable donations may be made to The Wagner Society of New York, or New York University College of Nursing.