Joseph S. Stern, Jr. was first appointed to the Board of Library Trustees in October 1961 by the Board of County Commissioners of Hamilton County. Mr. Stern served for 42 years, retiring on September 30, 2003. He was named Trustee Emeritus in recognition of his devoted service and ongoing commitment to the Library.
He has an undergraduate degree and M.B.A. from Harvard, and served as President of the Harvard Club of Cincinnati. A former Lieutenant in the U. S. Navy (1943–46), he retired as President, Chairman of the Board, and Director of U. S. Shoe Corporation. Mr. Stern is Professor Emeritus of Business Administration at the University of Cincinnati, and has served as a moderator for the U. C. Learning in Retirement Program. He has received honorary degrees from both the University of Cincinnati and Xavier University.
Among his many business and civic activities, he was chairman of both the Greater Cincinnati Bicentennial Commission and the Greater Cincinnati Tall Stacks Commission, and was a co-founder of the Friends of the Public Library. He was also President of the Cincinnati May Festival. He has served as a trustee of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, the Cincinnati Historical Society, Children's Hospital Medical Center, Family Service of Cincinnati, and a Director of both Central Trust Company (now PNC) and Touchstone Securities, Western-Southern Life Insurance Company.
Mr. Stern has served as President of both Isaac M. Wise Temple and the Friends of the Plum Street Temple, and is a former president of the Convalescent Hospital for Children. In 1989 Mr. Stern received the prestigious Great Living Cincinnatian Award for his community service. He is a resident of Hyde Park.
