Lifetime Service Award

Robert L. Klein ’42 M.S. ’43

More than 70 years after his graduation from Stevens, Robert Klein ’42 M.S. ’43 is still serving his alma mater — a labor of love that has included true alumni engagement and philanthropy that has spanned the decades.

For more than 30 years, Mr. Klein has served as the class secretary for The Stevens Indicator, writing engaging and informative logs — and never missing a deadline. His devotion to his class log is legendary, as he often reaches out to his classmates by phone, collecting not only their “updates” but also dispensing encouragement, health tips and comfort, and always fostering camaraderie. His classmates have called him the “glue” that kept this close-knit class together for decades and deepened friendships many years after graduation.

Mr. Klein has attended almost every five-year class reunion since 1947 and, for decades, helped to organize both Hoboken reunions and “mini” reunions in Florida (where he resides) with his fellow classmates, along with the late Bill Cuming ’42. His most recent effort was truly a shining moment: Alumni Weekend 2012, when Mr. Klein and six of his 12 living classmates returned to Stevens to mark their 70th reunion.

This extraordinary volunteer — and his extraordinary class — founded and continue to support the Class of 1942 Scholarship, which aids high-achieving Stevens students in need. Mr. Klein is a longtime, generous supporter of the university and is a member of the Stevens Legacy Society and of the Edwin A. Stevens Society, the prestigious society for alumni and friends who give generously to the university every year. He and several classmates also served as volunteer callers for the Stevens Telethon for many years.

Mr. Klein served as president of Windalume Corporation, a manufacturer of aluminum windows, and vice president of Ameray Corporation, a manufacturer of X-ray protection materials. He was director and secretary of Morris Cablevision in New Jersey, prior to his retirement.

Mr. Klein launched a second “career” at the age of 55, when he began competing in tennis tournaments.  He competed nationally for almost 40 years and, incredibly, ended his tournament play just this year, when he was ranked Number 1 in Florida and Number 5 nationally in his over-90 age group.