About

History

The David C. Anchin Center for the Advancement of Teaching was established to honor and support the work of educators across the state of Florida. Today, the Anchin Center serves as a hub for educators, scholars, leaders, and policy makers who have a passion for advancing the teaching profession.

About Mr. David C. Anchin

As the middle child of five in a poor, Russian immigrant family, Mr. David C. Anchin learned early the value of education. His father encouraged him to invest in his mind, because education could never be taken away the way material things could. Thus began a reverence and a hunger for learning that would guide Mr. Anchin for the rest of his life.

It wasn't to be easy. During high school, he delivered papers before classes and worked after-school jobs to help support his family. He continued this pace throughout college, eventually earning three degrees – a graduate of accountancy from City College of New York, a bachelor of laws from Fordham, and a master of law from New York University – by working days and attending school at night.

His determination and tenacity paid off. By the mid-1920's, he had founded the New York CPA firm of Anchin, Block, and Anchin. Mr. Anchin was building his own reputation as an enterprising young accountant. The little boy who was denied an education in his native Russia became a tremendous success in his adopted home.

Mr. Anchin spent the rest of his life giving back. His wife Anne said, "He wanted to give something back to this country because he felt so privileged that he was able to go to school." In 1986, Mr. Anchin himself told a newspaper reporter, "As long as I live I will continue to repay that debt, and I can think of no better way than through the education of children."

Mr. Anchin was a strong and able mentor of student, teacher, and administrators alike, introducing new programs which had visible and immediate results. He and Anne established several programs aimed largely at giving at-risk children a better chance for educational success.

As an innovator, motivator, educator, and friend, Mr. Anchin left his mark on many. His honors and awards are legion, but family members say this is not the legacy he would have wanted. He would, they say, want to know he made a difference, and that others would keep up the fight.

To remember the man, honor his accomplishments, and continue the fight, Anne Anchin established the David C. Anchin Center for the Advancement of Teaching in 1997.