The University has learned of the passing of Margery Steinberg, emeritus professor at the Barney School of Business, who served as a faculty member in the marketing department from 1980–2011. During her time on campus, Steinberg held multiple chair and director roles.
She grew up in New York City and built a life grounded in learning, generosity, and cultural engagement. Steinberg earned an impressive range of degrees—bachelor’s, master’s, an MBA, and ultimately a PhD in marketing—and her career reflected that breadth. She taught in public schools and worked as a book editor before sharing her talents and knowledge with UHart.
Steinberg devoted herself to the institutions and communities she cared about. She served on committees and boards for the Boston Symphony, a major public library, and numerous cultural, charitable, and professional organizations. Her contributions extended far beyond philanthropy—she volunteered tirelessly and became a steadfast source of encouragement for young people who crossed her path. Steinberg nurtured generations of musicians, students, and newcomers, offering them guidance, meals, and a sense of belonging.
Girish Rishi M’92, who served on the University of Hartford Board of Regents for a decade and endowed a scholarship in Steinberg’s honor, remembers her as a defining influence in his life.
He recalls arriving in the United States at 21—timid, nervous, and “fresh off the boat”—and meeting Steinberg for the first time during an interview for a graduate assistantship. She drew her chair close, looked him directly in the eye, and spoke to him not about grades or qualifications, but about who he was. When he admitted he didn’t know the required software, he promised he would learn it in a week. She simply smiled. From that moment on, she set him on a path of possibility.
“I learned a lot from Margy,” Rishi emphasizes. “She gave me dignity, taught me ways of the professional world, about America, made me work extremely hard and challenged me. Values such as kindness, optimism, innovation I observed her practice, values that I was to realize over time as quintessentially American.
“The University of Hartford is my Plymouth Rock," Rishi continues. Honors accorded such as the Anchor Award and being inducted to the Hall of Fame at the Barney School made me think of my days of genesis. She joined me during each of these moments.”
In a heartfelt remembrance published in the Berkshire Eagle titled Stop all the Clocks, longtime friend Donald Morrison explains that Steinberg's “positive impact on this imperfect world will likely live on, as the young people she helped over the years find their own success—and pay her generosity forward. The same result can be expected from older folks like me, who knew her solely as a friend. We will spend what’s left of our lives trying to be as fine a person as she was.”