By David Gordon, News Editor
Donald Everett Axinn, trustee emeritus of the Hofstra University Board of Trustees and former Associate Dean of Hofstra College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, died Tuesday, October 13.
An author, poet and avid aviator, Axinn was the founder and chairman of Donald E. Axinn Companies, an investment firm and developer of office and industrial parks throughout the New York metropolitan area. Referred to by friends and colleagues as a Renaissance man, Axinn was also the author of three novels, 11 books of poetry and served as a director and partner of the publishing house Farrar, Straus & Giroux. He produced the film version of his novel "Spin." Articles Axinn wrote about flying were published in major New York newspapers, including the New York Times.
Axinn was made a Trustee Emeritus of the University's Board of Trustees in 1979, after having served on the board since 1970. In 1971, he became the Associate Dean of the Hofstra College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, as well as the Director of the Institute of the Arts. He rejoined the Board of Trustees as an active trustee in 1984, retiring in 1990.
In 1988, the Hofstra University Library was named the Joan and Donald E. Axinn Library to recognize his many accomplishments and service to the University. He was honored with the Hofstra University Presidential Medal, which he wore quite often according to friends, at the University's annual Gala in 2003. In 2002, The Cradle of Aviation Museum at Roosevelt Field (of which he was a trustee) opened the Donald E. Axinn Air and Space Museum.
Axinn served on the Board of Trustees of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL). "Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory was fortunate enough to have Don Axinn as a dear friend, trustee and benefactor," CSHL President Bruce Stillman said. "We will miss his enthusiasm for our research and education mission, the breadth of his interests in the arts and sciences and his wise counsel. His spirit lives on in the Donald Everett Axinn Laboratory which is dedicated to studying the neurological roots of mental illness."
He also cofounded the Interfaith Nutrition Network (INN). "We join the entire Long Island community in mourning the death of Donald Axinn," said INN Executive Director Jean Kelly. "One of the original INN angels, Don was a critical member of the initial steering committee that helped to found and start the INN in 1983…We can all be grateful for his generosity, compassion and dedication to goodness."
A graduate of Middlebury College in 1951, Donald Axinn received his Master of Arts in humanities from Hofstra University in 1975. He is survived by his wife Joan, six children, seven grandchildren and his sister Nadine.
The University's flags will fly at half-staff in his honor. Funeral services will take place on Thursday, October 15.
(Photo courtesy Hofstra University archives)