Norma Kirschner Skolnik

I was married at 20 and have 3 children:
- Dr. Jonathan Skolnik, professor of German & Jewish Studies and head of grad dept. Univ. of Massachusetts
- Dr. Miri Skolnik, Assistant Dean, Counseling Services at MIT
- Julie Skolnik, Assistant to the CEO, Pearson Publishing Co.

I also have 4 grandchildren ( 3 boys & 1 girl)

B.A. degree 1963 University of Cincinnati,
Major: French Literature
Minor: Biology
M.L.S. degree 1966 Columbia University/Pratt Institute

See comments below

Worked for 35 years as Director of Regulatory Affairs for several pharmaceutical firms, although my first M.A. degree is in library & information science. Currently working as a regulatory consultant.

I love to read and travel and have done a lot of both. My avocation is Jewish Literature and I'm enrolled in Rutgers University graduate program in Jewish lit. I also speak at seminars and universities on FDA regulations.

My biggest hobby 5 years ago was working on the GNHS 50th reunion. Randy Coleman Weiss and I assembled the GNHS survey results and it was fascinating and a lot of fun. (See reunion photo below).
Worked on 55th Reunion committee and am glad to have done so. See also recent photos from the 55th reunion with Pat Jaffe Gruenstein and Ann Miltenberg.

League of Women Voters

BIO

I was married at 20 and graduated from college in 1963 with a degree in French Literature. Although I was accepted into the PhD. program at Columbia University, my husband and I realized that it was impossible for both of us to attend graduate school at the same time and still pay the rent. (He attended Hebrew Union College at the time and was ordained a rabbi in 1969). I went to work for the New York Public Library system and studied library science at Columbia University and Pratt Institute in N.Y. where I received my Masters degree in 1966. That was a dynamic time and working as a librarian in NYC was interesting and I loved it.

In 1969 we moved to Hagerstown, Maryland, the site of my husband’s first congregation. We were there 5 years and then moved to another congregation in North Carolina. The prejudices and small mindedness of life in the South left me feeling isolated and light years away from life in Great Neck. I read constantly to assure that my brain wouldn’t atrophy. By 1975, we had 3 kids and had it with life in the South. We returned to the New York area where my husband Stan had a new congregation in northern New Jersey. Due to the NYC budget crisis at the time, there were no library positions to be found, so I went to work for a pharmaceutical firm (my college minor was Biology) and learned a lot about government regulations. After a few years I became Associate Director of Regulatory Affairs at Lederle Consumer Health. Eventually I became Director of Regulatory Affairs at Warner-Lambert Consumer Healthcare which was later acquired by Pfizer. My job enabled me to do lots of international travel (which I truly love) and to send my 3 kids through college and graduate school.

I am really proud of my kids. My son, Dr. Jonathan Skolnik, has a Ph. D. from Columbia and is professor of German & Jewish studies at University of Massachusetts. He is head of the U. Mass graduate program in German & Slavic languages. My daughter, Dr. Miri Skolnik, got her doctorate in Clinical Psychology and is Assistant Dean of Counseling Services at MIT. My daughter Julie is assistant to the CEO of a major book publishing firm. I have 4 grandchildren.

When Nancy Bronstein contacted me about our class reunion I was delighted. It was wonderful when we could get together during a trip to California and discuss old times. Having recently lost two close friends who were my age, I’ve come to realize how important it is to stay connected while you still can. Seeing the list of so many high school classmates who’ve passed away reinforced my wish to live the “carpe diem” philosophy and stay connected.

I worked on the reunion committee and on the GNHS survey for several months. It's put me in touch with some terrific classmates whom I barely knew in high school. For me, this was the best part of the reunion.

North

Reunion photos from the 50th & 55th reunions appear below. The most recent ones from the 55th reunion are of Pat Gruenstein & me at the reunion dinner and of Pat, Ann Miltenberg & me at the reunion picnic in the North high school cafeteria.

I have just written "YOUR AMAZING ITTY BITTY CONSULTING BOOK: 15 STEPS TO BECOMING A SUCCESSFUL CONSULTANT". It's available on Amazon and Kindle.