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Cyrus S. (Cy) Fleck Jr. ’52, who served the College in a career spanning 44 years, including 32 as registrar, died May 10 at the age of 79. A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Friday, May 14, in Colton Chapel, followed by a reception in the East Wing, Marquis Hall.
He is survived by Jane Sassaman Fleck, his wife of 49 years; daughter Meredith Jane Fleck and her husband, Thomas Pak; daughter Shelby Fleck Slayton and her husband, Scott T. Slayton; and granddaughters Avery Slayton and Charlotte Fleck Slayton.
A government and law graduate in 1952, Fleck returned to the College in 1961 as a development officer following studies for an MBA Lehigh University and a stint in the army. He became registrar in 1965 and served in the role until 1997. At that time he became special assistant to College President Arthur J. Rothkopf ’55 and served as director of study abroad, retiring in 2005.
Fleck was honored at the annual pre-Commencement dinner May 21, 2005, on the eve of Lafayette’s 170th Commencement. Rothkopf read the citation below. Fleck received the Administrator of the Year Award, and Rothkopf announced that the award would be renamed in Fleck’s honor. The award had been established in 2002 by gifts from faculty members to recognize outstanding contributions by members of the Lafayette administrative team to the campus community.
A lifelong resident of Easton, Fleck was the son of the late Cyrus S. Fleck ’20, who died in 2000 at age 100, after having been an active presence at Lafayette for more than three-quarters of a century, including serving as a member of the board of trustees for 47 years.
Contributions may be sent to the Cyrus S. Fleck Scholarship Fund, c/o Lafayette College, 307 Markle Hall, Easton, PA 18042.
Cyrus S. Fleck Jr. ’52
May 21, 2005
Lafayette takes justifiable pride in its identity as a student-centered college. And I am aware of no member of the Lafayette administration who has ever served the interests of our students longer or with greater devotion than has Cy Fleck.
An Easton native, the son of a Lafayette alumnus and trustee, and himself a 1952 graduate of the College (with a major in government and law), Cy has worked at his alma mater for close to four-and-a-half decades. If he made one misstep, it was enrolling at Lehigh long enough to earn an MBA. But he has attended more than 50 Lafayette-Lehigh games without ever cheering for the wrong side.
Cy was hired as a member of the development office staff but spent most of his career as registrar. When he retired from that position in 1997, he accepted my invitation to stay on as my special assistant. Current students are most familiar with Cy in his capacity as director of our study-abroad program. During his affiliation with that program, Lafayette has ranked among the leaders in the number of undergraduates who take advantage of those opportunities.
In a profile that appeared in The Lafayette earlier this spring, Cy underscored his respect and admiration for students by noting that “the college is definitely heading [in] the right direction, and it’s the students that are making it happen.” Of course that’s only possible because people like Cy are here to guide and encourage them.
Although Cy’s retirement will enable him and Jane to travel more extensively, they also look forward to volunteering for Lafayette. True to Cy’s commitment to our students, one of his special goals is to help connect undergraduates with alumni.