On the Veteran’s Wall of Honor in the Main Library, you’ll find thousands of names of alumni, faculty, staff and students who have served or are serving our country, along with photos, short anecdotes and other contributions that help tell the extensive story of UAlbany’s greatest heroes. Herman Kleine, Class of 1941, is a big part of that story.
Kleine passed away Aug. 24, 2023, at his home in Fairfield, Conn. He was 103. Born in Brooklyn and raised during the Depression, Kleine was high school valedictorian and earned a bachelor’s degree at the University at Albany (then New York State College for Teachers) before joining the Army Air Corps in 1945. After his military service, Kleine earned a doctorate in economics at Clark University. He was recruited from Clark to help shape the Marshall Plan, the groundbreaking U.S. effort to rebuild Europe after World War II. This led to a 20-year career with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), where he served as director in Ethiopia, representative to the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, and deputy mission chief in Brazil. He then served as assistant administrator of USAID’s Bureau of Latin American Affairs and advised presidents Nixon and Ford on U.S. policy in Central and South America. In 1963, Kleine earned a graduate degree in National Security Studies at the National War College. He then served as director of the Center for Immigration Policy and Refugee Assistance at the InterAmerican Development Bank, Georgetown University, and volunteered at the Montgomery County Office of Consumer Affairs. In 1977, the UAlbany Alumni Association honored Kleine with the Distinguished Alumni Award. He delivered the keynote address at the Phi Beta Kappa Induction Ceremony in 2009 at the age of 90 and was made an honorary member. Kleine’s career was nothing short of impressive, and his recognition of the value of education and the pride he felt regarding his own academic accomplishments ran deep.
In 2016, while sharing his story with the Historian Club at Fairfield College Preparatory School, a student asked what Kleine’s key to success is. “Networking, for one,” Kleine answered. “In life, I find, there are connections, one thing leads to another — and you have to be ready when the opportunity comes. A little obsessiveness doesn’t hurt.”Quote from the Spokesman blog, gsheffer.com.
