Irving Anker

Irving Anker (October 27, 1911 – June 12, 2000) was an American educator and administrator who served from 1973 to 1978 as New York City Schools Chancellor, overseeing the largest school district in the United States at a time when control of schools was being transferred to local community school districts and when the fiscal crisis besetting the City of New York forced major staffing cuts. He had also served as Acting Chancellor in 1970 while the New York City Board of Education was searching for a permanent replacement.

He was born on October 27, 1911, in Red Hook, Brooklyn, his parents were Jewish immigrants who had received little formal education. A product of the New York City public schools, Anker attended City College of New York, where he earned bachelor's and master's degrees. He started teaching in 1934 at Erasmus Hall High School and worked his way up through the school system, becoming chairman of social studies at Long Island City High School, and then principal of Benjamin Franklin High School in East Harlem. Anker was named as an assistant superintendent in 1966 and was replaced as principal of Benjamin Franklin High School by Leonard F. Littwin.

While searching for a permanent Superintendent of Schools in 1970 for Nathan Brown, the Board of Education named Anker to serve as Acting Superintendent until the position was filled. The Board had approached, and been turned down by, such notables as Ralph Bunche, Ramsey Clark, Arthur J. Goldberg and Sargent Shriver, before choosing Harvey B. Scribner, who had been Commissioner of the Vermont Department of Education and superintendent of the Teaneck Public Schools, where he oversaw the implementation of a voluntary school integration program. Described as an "answer man to any question anybody's got about the city's school system", Anker didn't know that his salary as Acting Superintendent of Schools would be $48,000, and increase of almost $14,000 from his previous post as assistant superintendent. Anker's title was renamed to Chancellor as of July 1, 1970, the same day that the 32 local school boards were to take office. Anker expressed concern that "decentralization is going to be a time-consuming and touchy job" and expressed fears that it could lead to all-white and all-black schools.

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