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Joseph Rascoff, Former Trustee

Former Penn Trustee Joseph F. Rascoff, W’67, died on April 6 at age 71.

Mr. Rascoff was a major player on the business end of the music industry, as well as a tireless volunteer who worked to advance Penn’s mission.

Mr. Rascoff grew up in Far Rockaway, Queens. He graduated from Wharton in 1967 with a major in accounting and a minor in philosophy, and joined the accounting firm of Hurdman and Cranstoun, a predecessor of today’s KPMG. He became an audit partner in 1974 and left to become road accountant and then tour producer for the Rolling Stones. He launched his own entertainment management firm in 1978, and partnered with William Zysblat in 1988 to create the Rascoff/Zysblat Organization. The company represented prominent artists such as U2 and David Bowie, as well as the estates of Elvis Presley and Ira and George Gershwin, in recording contract negotiations, music publishing administration, licensing, royalty compliance and worldwide touring. Mr. Rascoff oversaw the Rolling Stones’ 1989-1990 “Steel Wheels”/ “Urban Jungle” tour, regarded at the time as the largest and most financially successful concert tour ever mounted. He went on to serve in various leadership roles at SFX Entertainment.

Mr. Rascoff served Penn as an Alumni Trustee from 1991-1996 and was an important contributor to the Student Life Committee. In addition, he served as a Library Overseer 1995-2005 and then again from 2008-2017. In 1996, he was awarded the Alumni Award of Merit. He was a generous donor to the University, in particular to the Penn Libraries and the Jane and Joe Rascoff Freshman Seminar Fund.

Mr. Rascoff was very involved in alumni outreach and worked to reach alumni nationwide in the 1980s and 1990s, particularly in Southern California and New York. He was president of the Alumni Association of Southern California, a founding member of the Penn Club of New York, an Executive Committee member of the Council of Regional Alumni Clubs and an early member of the Southern California Regional Advisory Board. He provided office space for Penn’s Western Regional Office to support admissions, development and alumni relations activities.

He was also vice president of Penn Alumni; an interviewer and recruiter for the Alumni Council on Admissions; a member of the Alumni Awards & Resolutions Committee and the Political Science Visiting Committee; and a fundraising volunteer on the Agenda for Excellence Council, the President’s Council, the Penn Fund Executive Board and the Class of 1967 Gift Committee.

Mr. Rascoff was predeceased by his son, Justin. He is survived by his wife, Jane, and children, Spencer, Brooke, C’15, and Jake.

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