Malcolm H. Stern

After leaving CCAR in 1980, Stern joined Hebrew Union College's faculty as Adjunct Professor, where he lectured in Jewish History. He was also a field-work counselor for rabbinic students. Stern held both positions until his death. Hebrew Union President, Dr. Alfred Gottschalk, said Stern's "scholarship, his pioneering seminal research in American Jewish genealogy and writings remain a rich legacy and memorial."

During his time as President of the Federation of Genealogical Societies, Stern worked to create the Genealogical Coordinating Committee. In a meeting in Salt Lake City in 1980, Stern brought together leaders from various genealogical entities—FGS, American Society of Genealogists, Association of Genealogical Educators, Association of Professional Genealogists, Board for Certification of Genealogists, International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies (IAJGS) and the National Genealogical Society—with a goal to foster better relationships between various genealogical groups that had common interests, especially supporting the work of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) so it would be available to genealogists. This meeting led to the formation of the Genealogical Coordinating Committee two years later, with a resulting National Archives Gift Fund (now known as the Malcolm H. Stern NARA Gift Fund) established. The purpose of the fund was to support NARA and other genealogical interests. Member organizations donated $1 per genealogist per year.

From 1964 to 1980, Stern was the Central Conference of American Rabbis' first Director of Rabbinic Placement for Reform Judaism, assigning rabbis to congregations.

In 1960, Stern served as editor in chief of the Union Songster for Reform Judaism and coordinated the revision of the Union Hymnal, both of which are considered by Reform Jews to be the commonly used hymnals for religious services. He co-edited Songs and Hymns for Gates of Prayer, the New Union Prayer Book (GOP) that is a Reform Jewish siddur. He chaired the committee that created Shaarei Shira/Gates of Song.

In 1960, Stern published Americans of Jewish Descent, in which he created extensive, fully sourced, family tree diagrams of all Jewish families who lived in American pre-1840. The work contained 26,000 names. Two more editions of the book followed: 1978's First American Jewish Families: 600 Genealogies, 1654–1977 and 1991's First American Jewish Families: 600 Genealogies, 1654–1988, which had over 50,000 surnames. The book was groundbreaking because of the volume of names and the thoroughness of the research. Many pre-1840, non-Jewish families discovered they had Jewish roots. It was considered one of the most valuable research tools in American Jewish genealogy and history. The work in these books was a source for much of Stephen Birmingham's 1981 book, The Grandees: America's Sephardic Elite.

From 1949 to 1994, Stern was the genealogist for the American Jewish Archives in Cincinnati.

From 1947 to 1964, Stern was Rabbi of Ohef Sholom Temple in Norfolk, Virginia. During his time there, he completed his Doctor of Hebrew Letters in 1957 in American Jewish History under the tutelage of Dr. Jacob Rader Marcus.

In 1943, Stern took a sabbatical from his position at Keneseth Israel to serve a Chaplain in the US Army Air Corps. During this time, during World War II, Stern almost died when his plane crashed at Casablanca during a flight to India; in a letter home to his father that was published in the local press, Stern said he felt lucky to have only broken an arm and a leg.

In 1942, Stern was one of 90 Reform rabbis to sign a statement in support of aid to Palestine. The published statement said that the signatories were "opposing growing secularism and favoring greater emphasis on transcendent moral and religious values and principles in American life."

From 1941 to 1943, Stern was assistant rabbi to Rabbi Fineshriber at the Reform Congregation Keneseth Israel, in Philadelphia, where his great-uncle, Joseph Krauskopf had previously served as rabbi. After the war, from 1946 to 1947, Stern returned to work as a rabbi at Keneseth Israel.

In 1941, Stern married Louise Steinhart Bergman. They had no children. In 1994, Stern died in New York City of a heart attack.

In 1935, Stern received a BA from the University of Pennsylvania. In 1937, Stern received a Bachelor of Hebrew Letters from Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati. He earned a Master of Hebrew Letters in 1941 and the Doctor of Hebrew Letters in American Jewish History in 1957, all from Hebrew Union College. In 1966, Stern received a Doctor of Divinity degree from Hebrew Union College.

Stern's family was from the early German Jewish community of Philadelphia. His father and grandfather worked at the family business, Jacob Stern & Sons, where they were hides and tallow processors. In the 1920s, Stern's father sold his share of the business to retire to the farm in Fox Chase; Stern described this as his father's attempts to be a bit of a gentleman farmer, as well as author, playwright, and painter. After the Wall Street Crash of 1929, Stern's father became an independent real estate agent.

Malcolm Henry Stern (January 29, 1915 – January 5, 1994) was an American rabbi, historian, and genealogist. Through the work he did that supported secular genealogical communities and resources, as well as created what is the structure and backbone of current Jewish genealogical societies, Stern's efforts created long-lasting, far-reaching cooperative organizations. For these reasons, Stern has been described as the dean of American Jewish genealogy.

Stern's mother was active in organizing Jewish summer camps for Philadelphia-area children. She was involved in supporting the National Farm School (now the Delaware Valley College of Science and Agriculture), which was founded by her uncle Rabbi Joseph Krauskopf in 1896, and where her ashes are now interred. She was also active with the local Juvenile Aid Society. The foster children would often spend Sundays at the family's farm in Fox Chase.