Donald Blun Straus was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 educator and an executive in public service

Public services

Public services is a term usually used to mean services provided by government to its citizens, either directly or by financing private provision of services. The term is associated with a social consensus that certain services should be available to all, regardless of income...

. Straus, who held A.B. and M.B.A. degrees from Harvard University

Harvard University

Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...

, served as President of the American Arbitration Association

American Arbitration Association

The American Arbitration Association is a private enterprise in the business of arbitration, and one of several arbitration organizations that administers arbitration proceedings. The AAA also administers mediation and other forms of alternative dispute resolution. It is headquartered in New York...

, Executive Vice President of the Health Insurance Plan of Greater New York, Chair of the Planned Parenthood

Planned Parenthood

Planned Parenthood Federation of America , commonly shortened to Planned Parenthood, is the U.S. affiliate of the International Planned Parenthood Federation and one of its larger members. PPFA is a non-profit organization providing reproductive health and maternal and child health services. The...

 Federation of America, and a trustee of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace is a foreign-policy think tank based in Washington, D.C. The organization describes itself as being dedicated to advancing cooperation between nations and promoting active international engagement by the United States...

 and the Institute for Advanced Study

Institute for Advanced Study

The Institute for Advanced Study, located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States, is an independent postgraduate center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry. It was founded in 1930 by Abraham Flexner...

. An early advocate of online education and public referendum

Referendum

A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...

s via computers and the Web, he taught an online course in "Democracy in the 21st Century" for Connected Education

Connected Education

Connected Education - also known as Connect Ed - was a pioneering online education organization founded and administered by Paul Levinson and TinaVozick. Operating from 1985 to 1997, Connect Ed offered the M.A. degrees in Media Studies Connected Education - also known as Connect Ed - was a...

 in the late-1980s and early-1990s. He served as Faculty Associate and was a Life Trustee at the College of the Atlantic

College of the Atlantic

The College of the Atlantic, founded in 1969, is a private, alternative liberal-arts college located in Bar Harbor on Mount Desert Island, Maine, United States. It awards a bachelor's degree solely in the field of human ecology, though with a variety of emphases. The college is small, with...

 in Maine.

Straus was born in Middletown, New Jersey, the son of Percy and Edith (Abraham) Straus. His paternal grandparents — Ida and Isidor Straus

Isidor Straus

Isidor Straus —a German Jewish American—was co-owner of the Macy's department store with his brother Nathan. He also served briefly as a member of the United States House of Representatives...

 — died on the Titanic, allowing others to take their place on the lifeboats. Isidor was a co-founder of Macy's

Macy's

Macy's is a U.S. chain of mid-to-high range department stores. In addition to its flagship Herald Square location in New York City, the company operates over 800 stores in the United States...

 department store

Department store

A department store is a retail establishment which satisfies a wide range of the consumer's personal and residential durable goods product needs; and at the same time offering the consumer a choice of multiple merchandise lines, at variable price points, in all product categories...

 in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

, and Percy — Donald's father — was President of the landmark New York store. His maternal grandfather was retailing magnate Abraham Abraham

Abraham Abraham

Abraham Abraham was an American businessman and the founder of the Brooklyn, New York department store Abraham & Straus, founded 1865...

.

Straus married Elizabeth Allen in 1940. They had three children. Straus died in Mount Desert, Maine.