Naparstek, Arthur

Arthur J. Naparstek (1939-2004) was a faculty member and administrator at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences at Case Western Reserve University (CWRU), serving as Dean from 1983 to 1988. He remained on staff until his death in 2004. His interests were varied, but much of his research and activity focused upon the plight of the urban poor and urban revitalization. Among his professional activities prior to his affiliation with CWRU, Naparstek directed the University of Southern California's Washington (D.C.) Public Affairs Center. He also directed policy and research at Catholic University's Center for Urban Ethnic Affairs and was the Associate Director of Purdue University's Urban Development Institute where he was a key advisor to Gary Hatcher, the first African American mayor of Gary, Indiana. Appointed by Cleveland Mayor Michael White in 1990 as Director of the Cleveland Foundation Commission on Poverty, he directed and edited the Commission's report. The report became the basis of the Department of Housing and Urban Development's Urban Revitalization Demonstration Act (Hope VI). This design for urban renewal remains the federal standard for urban renewal in the United States. Naparstek was concurrently active in leadership roles in Jewish communal organizations. Among the positions he held were the President of the Mandel Associated Foundations and Director of its Commission on Jewish Education in North America and Director of the United Jewish Communities' Israel and Overseas Pillar. He also served as Chairman of the United Jewish Communities' Partnership 2000 program between Cleveland and Beit Shean, Israel.