Bernard “Bernie” Kossar
“Bernie Kossar was truly one of the smartest people I have ever known,” said Chancellor Kent Syverud, recalling the esteemed Syracuse University and College of Law graduate, trustee, advisor, engaged alumnus and generous philanthropist. “Bernie’s IQ was so high and, with persistence, it was what kept opening up opportunities for him; but it was really his EQ, his emotional intelligence, that made him great, that made him most successful in my view. Bernie was a great judge of people.”
Syverud conveyed his thoughts at a memorial service for Kossar, who passed away at the age of 91 on April 10, 2024. Over many decades, Kossar had forged a legacy of innovation, leadership and generosity. He was recalled as an extraordinary individual with an unmatched work ethic, fierce loyalty to friends and important causes, and a born entrepreneur who was always willing to help others, especially his alma mater.
Kossar majored in accounting, graduating with a BS from the Martin J. Whitman School of Management in 1953 and earned a JD from the College of Law in 1955. “The combination of a strong business undergraduate degree, especially focusing on accounting and finance, mixed with a solid legal education equips you for almost anything and everything,” Kossar said in an interview for the College of Law’s 2023 Giving Book, in explaining both his “proprietary interest” in his alma mater and his sense of responsibility to be supportive and engaged .
He served on the University Board of Trustees Advancement and External Affairs and Finance Committees as a lifetime trustee participant. He was a voting trustee from 2000-2012 and chair of the Budget Committee from 2003-2006. In 2013, he received the Dritz Life Trustee of the Year Award. He was also a member of the Whitman Advisory Council, serving as its chair for 13 years. In 1996, he was the recipient of the University’s Outstanding Alumni Award. He was a member of the College of Law’s Board of Advisors and a member of the Society of Fellows.
In 2023, he received the first-ever Dean’s Distinguished Alumni Award, an honor created by College of Law Dean Craig Boise to recognize the accomplishments of outstanding alumni. “Bernie achieved so much in his professional life, and yet he was very involved in giving back and helping succeeding generations earn their own accomplishments,” said Boise.
It was his legal education that set the stage for extraordinary success in business. “In law school, you learn how to think, how to evaluate and how to make an informed judgement. The greatest thing you get out of law school is learning how to take an analytical approach to a problem, to tax your brain to get to the depth of the issue and understand it,” said Kossar. After passing the bar, he served in the Marine Corps with a two-year active commitment. While practicing law upon his return to him, he attended New York University Law School at night to earn a master’s in tax law.
Working at the New York City-based law firm of Van Buren, Schreiber, and Kaplan, Kossar focused on the complexities of corporate law, eventually becoming indispensable to one of his clients, Franklin Stores Corporation. He ended up working full-time for the expansive New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)-listed company, and it was his legal acumen and business sense that earned him the responsibilities and title of president and chief operating officer.
After his tenure there, he strengthened other corporations, becoming the president and COO of Vornado, a NYSE-listed company engaged in retail and real estate holdings. He was special advisor to the chairman and CEO of Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company before joining WR Grace & Company as senior vice president. At WR Grace & Co., Kossar served as senior vice president of seven retail companies. During this time, Kossar created HQ Home Quarters Warehouse, which he eventually purchased from WR Grace. As its president and chief executive officer, Kossar negotiated a highly profitable sale of HQ in 1988. That same year, he founded OW Office Warehouse Inc., an office supply superstore chain; six years later, OW was sold to OfficeMax at a substantial profit. Thereafter, Kossar founded Millennium Partners, LLLP, a private investment partnership focused on public and private investment opportunities.
Kossar’s grandson, Michael Kossar ’13, co-managed Millennium Partners with his grandfather, along with another private investment partnership, the Kossar Family LLLP. Michael was a finance major at the Whitman School, and credits his grandfather for teaching him that success in business is about building relationships and loyal friendships. “My grandfather instilled in me that it’s all about the people that surround you. He cared about everyone, every employee, accountant and lawyer. He may have started as a caboose on the train, but he ended up at the head of the train and everyone followed him.”
Kossar and his wife of more than 70 years, Carol Karetzky Kossar ’53 (College of Arts and Sciences), impacted countless lives with their philanthropy. At Syracuse University, they established the Bernard R. Kossar Endowed Scholarship, and generously supported other initiatives in the College of Law, Whitman School, College of Arts and Sciences, the SI Newhouse School of Public Communications and the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs . Other philanthropic endeavors included the Tel Aviv Foundation, the Kossar-Karetzky Park and the Kossar-Karetzky Senior Center.
Kossar once described philanthropy as a “selfish endeavor,” adding “I have derived more pleasure and more satisfaction and more good feelings from some of the good things that we’ve done. I’ve had payback beyond belief.”
Kossar is survived by his wife, Carol, their daughters Stephanie Kossar Stuart and Valerie Lise Kossar, grandchildren Michael and Ariana Kossar Cohn ’16, and great-grandchildren Blaine Monroe Kossar and Juliette Kossar Cohn.
