In Memoriam: Fall 2009

Pablo Beltrán de Heredia, emeritus professor of Spanish and Portuguese, died Aug. 21 at the age of 92. He taught at the university for 25 years. He was a noted scholar of Spanish art and literature.

Recognized as a key figure of cultural and political life in Santander, Spain, Beltrán de Heredia was named the “Adopted Son of Santander” in 1998. He also earned a medal of honor from Menéndez Pelayo International University in 1995.

Janet Meisel, professor of history, died April 30 at the age of 65. She taught at the university for 34 years. She was a noted scholar of medieval England and France and medieval towns and frontiers. In addition to her prolific career as a professor, Meisel also served as chief historical consultant and script editor for the PBS series “Newscasts from the Past,” a six-part series of videotapes designed to make medieval history come to life for high school students.

She also served as member of the Medieval Academy of America, the Institute for Historical Research, the International Center for Frontier Studies, the Medieval Institute, the Charles Homer Haskins Society and the American Historical Association.

Clarke Burnham, associate professor emeritus of psychology, died March 12 at the age of 71 of lung cancer. He taught at the university for more than 40 years, served as an undergraduate and graduate adviser, and chaired the Institutional Review Board.

“In many ways, Clarke was the heart of the psychology department,” said department chair James Pennebaker. “Clarke brought a professionalism and humanity to the university’s research enterprise. To give you an idea of his impact, when Clarke retired, it took six people to replace him, three faculty members in the psychology department and another three in the IRB offices. He will be sorely missed.”

Carl Creeger, a longtime staff member in the psychology department and Center for Perceptual Systems, died on March 4 at the age of 54. Creeger worked as the department’s electronics expert for many years before moving to the laboratories of Professors Bill Geisler, Randy Diehl and Duane Albrecht as a computer programmer and designer of computer interfaces.

“He contributed greatly to all of our research programs and he deserves a good bit of the credit for whatever success we achieved,” said Geisler. “Carl was a very friendly and easy-going person who was fun to be around and to learn from. He will be greatly missed.”