Writings & Remarks

Alfred E. Prettyman '56

June 5, 2026

Tags In Memoriam

Dear Faculty and Staff Colleagues,

We recently received word that Alfred E. Prettyman ’56, an alumni trustee from 1970 to 1976 and an active member of the Couper Guild, has died at the age of 91.

Al had careers in publishing, academia, and community and civic work. After receiving his Hamilton degree in literature and philosophy, he studied further at Cornell University and Baruch College before working as an editor, executive editor, and senior editor at Harper & Row Publishers. He subsequently founded Emerson Hall, specializing in trade non-fiction in the social and behavioral sciences, and Pretty-Steady Productions, an arts and education media company. 

As an academic, Al taught at Rutgers University, SUNY Rockland, SUNY Orange, and Ramapo College of New Jersey and was a W.E.B. Du Bois Lecturer at Humboldt University in Berlin. He published numerous articles and was editor of National Civics in a Mosaic Democracy and U.S., The Intercultural Nation. In addition, he served as co-author of “The History of African American Education” in the Encyclopedia of African American Culture and History and co-founded and later served as president of the Society for the Study of Africana Philosophy.

Al was also a civic leader. He was director of public affairs and community relations for the NYC Department of Juvenile Justice; director of communications for the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (which has been described as the nation’s largest nonprofit partnership for creating moderate- and low-income housing); and director of public relations for Union Theological Seminary. 

Among his most cherished Hamilton memories were serving as soloist for the Baldwin Choir, “Otto Liedke’s candor, Walter Pilkington’s urbanity and Helene Browning’s wicked sense of humor when I was a library clerk; Kai Nielsen’s riveting philosophy classes; winning the Clark Prize in Oration, [and] the notable civility of Hamiltonians.”

The Prettyman family is planning a celebration tribute on September 19 in New York.

Steven