In Memoriam: Kenneth A. Christiansen

It is with great sadness that The King’s College received the news that Dr. Kenneth A. Christiansen, former professor of business at King’s, passed away on January 17, 2020 at the age of 92.

Christiansen taught accounting and tax accounting at the Briarcliff Manor campus. He was also the department chair for most of his time and was selected by the faculty to represent them to the Board of Trustees. When the College closed in 1994, Christiansen loyally helped through the entire transition to New York City and commuted from Shelton, Conn., making a four-hour roundtrip commute to serve as CFO.

Dr. Christiansen’s daughter Louise McClelland described her father as “one determined, stubborn, and adventurous Viking, emigrated to Brooklyn, NY from Norway through Ellis Island at nine years old. He was a soldier in World War II, a tax exec in NYC, and a business professor for twenty years.”

Christiansen came out of the corporate world and started teaching at King’s when he “retired.” He served as chair of the business program for many years. According to student report, Christiansen spoke with relish on all things tax-related. Christiansen started teaching at King’s in the early 1980’s and retired in the beginning of 2003. Close to his retirement, a dinner honored his work at the college and established an endowed scholarship in his name. It was hosted and organized by the College and attended by many of Christiansen’s former students.

Rick Millham, a longtime member of the alumni executive committee, recalled his years as a King’s student in 1986:

My first 2 exams were in Accounting 1 and I failed them spectacularly (picture 40’s). The professor was Ken Christiansen who had been the HEAD Tax Accountant at Continental Can Company. Ken called me into his office and I started crying. I was convinced I was just not cut out for college and I was done. Ken said, “Nonsense, you can do this,” and for the balance of the semester he met with me before every exam and worked through problems similar to the exam. I was off and going after that and never looked back. I rightly credit my college success to the care and concern shown by Ken Christiansen. I am confident I was not the only student to credit Ken with helping them succeed.

Judy Barringer, a former student under Christiansen whom he later hired to work at the College, still remembers when Christiansen “dressed up as a Viking for the senior breakfast before graduation.” She went on to say,

I learned so much from him personally and professionally as he poured himself into the work God had for him to do in the lives of people around him and in the operations of the college. We laughed, we strategized, we prayed, we talked baseball (Yankees for him, Mets for me), we talked about eternal things. He cared so much for people and stayed in touch with so many former students. He continued to mentor them long after the classroom. And he was always helping people with taxes. He so loved working through tax issues! What a blessing he was to us. He will be so missed by so many, but I know he is with the Saviour he loves so much and we will be together again in eternity.

Friends and family honored Christiansen with a memorial service in Pompano Beach, Fla. on January 22. Memorial gifts may be sent to Camp Spofford to provide scholarships to campers through the Ken Christiansen Memorial Fund.

To share a memory or tribute of Christiansen with fellow alumni (for publication in the February alumni newsletter), please write to alumni@tkc.edu by February 17, 2020.