Remembering Austin “Kip” Kiplinger ’39

Austin H. “Kip” Kiplinger ’39, chairman emeritus of the Cornell University Board of Trustees and a longtime active member of the Cornell Club of Washington, passed away in Rockville, Maryland at the age of 97 on November 20, 2015.

Kip was editor emeritus of The Kiplinger Washington Editors, the publishers of Kiplinger's Personal Finance, The Kiplinger Letter, kiplinger.com in addition to other titles. He had led the publishing company since 1959 (his father founded the company in 1920) and served as its chairman and president from 1961 to 1993.

Kip became a Cornell University trustee in 1960, and served as board chairman from 19841989. As an alumnus, Kip supported the creation of the Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts, co-chaired the committee to renovate and expand Lincoln Hall, and served as chair of the presidential search committee that selected Frank H.T. Rhodes as the university’s ninth president.

Even with his many duties for Cornell, Kip remained ever active and interested in his local club throughout the years.

As a life member, Kip was always ready to support CCW, whether it was hosting our annual Father’s Day picnic for decades at the family farm, Montevideo, or providing the use of the Kiplinger office’s Washington collection and museum as our event venues, or simply attending CCW happenings around town. He served as Secretary of CCW’s Board of Directors; a CCW scholarship was named in his honor nearly two decades ago.

A Cornellian extraordinaire and a true Washingtonian at heart, Kip is missed by all of us.

CCW will be honoring Kip in a special edition newsletter in 2016. Please share your remembrances and photos with us by January 11, 2016 – email Renee Gewercman ’07 at rrg25@cornell.edu.

Pictured Above: Austin H. “Kip” Kiplinger ’39 greets Cornell's 10th President Hunter Rawlings and wife, Elizabeth, at the 2014 CCWAnnual Meeting.

Photograph by: Sathi Soma ’92, M. Eng. ’94.