Ashley Schiff Park Preserve 

Ashley grew up on Eastern parkway, Brooklyn with his parents and twin brother David. His father, Harry, was a New York City detective, and his mother, Pauline Trouper, a former dancer, actress, and journalist. In close proximity to their apartment was the Brooklyn Museum, Prospect Park and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. The latter Institution, especially, provided the atmosphere in which Ashley developed an early concern with the natural world. When he was thirteen years old, a silver cup dated 1945 was awarded Ashley for his work in the garden.

Ashley attended Erasmus High School and graduated from Brooklyn College with a major in political science. He then moved to Harvard University where he received a Ph.D. in Public Administration. During the years of his formal education, he had maintained his interest in natural history, serving as a nature camp counselor during the summers. His doctoral dissertation reflected his involvement in conservation and administration of natural resources. It was published as “FIRE AND WATER Scientific Heresy in the Forest Service”. The Subject, controlled burning and its use by public and private groups, was controversial at the time, and is even more relevant today. Often cited by other scholars, it is considered a classic in its field.

Ashley’s first teaching job was at Hofstra University. From there he moved to University of Southern California. With a grant from Resources for the Future, he spent a year doing research on Canada and the United States for a book that was not completed at the time of his death. In 1964 he began to teach at Stony Brook. It was here that he fully developed the skills and dedication that were to make him the effective, popular professor and administrator that he was at the time of his death in 1969. The years at Stony Brook inspired him. He loved the beauty of the area, the responsiveness of the students, and the opportunity to participate in the growth of a new university. He reveled in his role as Master of Cardozo College as much as the students appreciated him. He felt a real need to set an example. Thus, his personally purchasing, planting and maintaining the garden, which to this day blooms pink and white each spring near the psychology building. (It was once the social science building.) his frequent arguments with shortsighted builders on campus who trampled the gorgeous natural surroundings are well known. I need not mention more about the effectiveness of his short tenure at Stony Brook. I need only observe those he taught, who remember him, and want to preserve that which he knew was important.

All Articles are Copyright © their respective Owners