David Muchnick ’66

David Muchnick ’66 passed away September 17, 2019, after a long and successful career as a lawyer and environmental activist. Mark Budnitz ’66 recalled, “We first met at the Dartmouth Political Action Committee, where we were active in promoting civil rights. Being progressive and publicly acting on our beliefs and values put us in a distinct minority at Dartmouth. Right from the start he was warm and welcoming. He was also very smart. In fact, he was one of the most outstanding students in our entire class. But he never bragged; he never put down any of us. Dave could have taken his law degree and got fancy and lucrative jobs, but instead he stayed true to his principles: pursuing justice and helping others. It was a privilege to have known him. May his memory be a blessing.” And Gerhard Leib ’66 wrote, “David and other friends were in the Dartmouth Christian Union, which encompassed all faiths. David was the one who encouraged me to go for a graduate degree in city planning. When he came back with his M.A. from England, we shared an apartment in Cambridge, Massachusetts. David felt deeply about the wrongs that had been inflicted on people by the urban renewal process—‘urban minorities removal,’ as he put it. After law school, his work for the nonprofit Big City Forest in the Bronx was an amazing accomplishment, with its jobs recycling wood pallets into office furniture. The world has lost a great mind and a wonderful mensch. David would have been a great president.”