Dr. Melvyn Douglas Goldfinger Obituary (1947 - 2021)

Mel Goldfinger, Ph.D. passed away on September 17, 2021, at the age of 74. He was born in Newark, New Jersey on January 24, 1947. He is predeceased by his parents, Max M. Goldfinger and Myrna (nee Demby) Goldfinger. He is survived by his wife of 32 years, Dr. Adrian M. Corbett, Ph.D., his brother, Paul Goldfinger, M.D., and his two nephews, Stephen and Michael Goldfinger. Mel spent most of his life as a musician, playing the trombone for Rutherford High School and Rutgers University in his home state of New Jersey, as well as be selected for certain state band performances. He played in the pit of some off-Broadway shows when he was young, and various gigs throughout the state of New Jersey. Since that time, Mel mastered the baritone horn, and the viola, in addition to the trombone. Since moving to Ohio, he has played with the Kettering Community Band, The Sinclair Wind Symphony, The Wright State String Orchestra, Dayton Playhouse, and had the longest run with the Miami Valley Symphony Orchestra. Mel was also a classically trained neuroscientist, performing electrophysiology in summers at Woods Hole on giant squid axons. He studied neuroscience at SUNY Downstate Medical Center, studied biophysics at University of Maryland Medical Center, had post-doctoral training at Washington University in St. Louis, and was one of the first neuroscientists at Wright State University. He was a faculty member at Wright State University for more than 30 years. More importantly for the faculty at Wright State, Mel led the drive for unionization of the faculty with AAUP, and was a tireless advocate for faculty rights. He helped change Wright State University so that they had to use objective criteria for Promotion and Tenure decisions: no longer could they let you go if they just didn't like you. He will be deeply missed. A Memorial Celebration of Mel's Life will be held Schlientz & Moore Funeral Home (1632 Wayne Ave, Dayton) on Sunday, October 3, from 3 pm to 6 pm. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Remembering Mel Goldfinger, a Tireless Faculty Advocate ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Melvyn Goldfinger, who was associate professor of neuroscience, cell biology, and physiology at Wright State University, died on September 17 at the age of seventy-four. Mel Goldfinger was a champion for academic freedom, shared governance, and the economic security of the faculty-the three bedrock principles of the AAUP. It was Mel, along with Adrian Corbett, who talked me into joining the AAUP to organize a union at Wright State, and it was he and Adrian who convinced me to be the chief negotiator. Without Mel, there would not have been a union at Wright State. Mel was the first grievance and contract administrator for AAUP-WSU. He was a tireless advocate for faculty rights and never shied away from a fight when there was a principle at stake. He could be charming one minute and be a harsh critic the next. But even as a critic, he was always guided by his principles. When we were organizing, email was just starting to become popular, but it was not yet a reliable way to communicate with all faculty. So we did things the old fashioned way. We created paper flyers that needed to be delivered to faculty mailboxes. The administration prohibited us from using campus mail, claiming that it was illegal. Of course, that was a lie. But we needed to put out a flyer every week during the organizing campaign, and Mel took it upon himself to deliver each and every flyer. Mel had a newspaper delivery bag, from the days when kids road their bicycles and delivered papers by throwing them onto people's porches. Every week, he could be seen walking from department to department, carrying the flyers in his newspaper bag, making sure they made it into faculty's mailboxes. Mel started his academic career at the medical school at the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC). If you were ever in Mel's office/lab, you would know he was a packrat. He never threw anything out. When he moved to Wright State, he even brought scrap paper including old exams and papers from Kansas City. One day, when I was in his office he asked me if I knew a Carl Fichtenbaum. I said, "Yes, he is my brother," and Mel pulled out an old exam or paper with my brother's name on it that he had brought from UMKC. After all, my brother had written on only one side of the page; so in Mel's mind, only half of it had been used. The next time I saw my brother, I asked him if remembered having a class with Mel, and he said, "Oh yeah, Goldfinger, the guy who always wore his belt buckle on the side." The world was a better place, and Wright State was a better university because of Mel Goldfinger. I will miss Mel. (-written by Rudy Fichtenbaum, professor emeritus of economics at Wright State University and past president of the AAUP.) ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* For everyone's safety, the family requests attendees of Mel's Celebration of Life be masked/fully vaccinated against COVID-19 *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ In lieu of flowers, please consider honoring Mel by making a donation in his name to the Miami Valley Symphony Orchestra ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* This is a true Celebration of Mel's life, so please share your favorite Mel stories & photos here! ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~