Nancy Foran
Nancy Foran, associate professor of accounting at U-M–Dearborn, died Feb. 25. She was 57.
Foran joined the Dearborn faculty in 2000, after serving as a faculty member at Wichita State University for more than 20 years. She wrote numerous articles in professional journals, primarily on tax-related issues in accounting.
“She was an honored and experienced scholar in the area of taxation,” according to Gary Waissi, dean of the School of Management. “But she was also a very dedicated classroom teacher, and was very much appreciated by her students and her colleagues on the faculty.”
Foran earned her bachelor of science in accounting degree from the University of California, Los Angeles, where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and Beta Gamma Sigma, the national honorary society for students in accounting. Foran earned a master’s degree at Wichita State and a Ph.D. in business administration from Oklahoma State University.
Foran is survived by her husband, Michael Foran, who also is professor of accounting and finance at U-M–Dearborn, and seven children and stepchildren. Contributions may be made to the Nancy J. Foran Memorial Scholarship in Accounting and Finance at the U-M–Dearborn School of Management, 4901 Evergreen Rd., Dearborn, Mich. 48128.
—Submitted by U-M–Dearborn Public Relations
Lemuel A. Johnson
Lemuel Johnson—a scholar, critic, poet and teacher—died at home March 12, following an extended illness. He was 60.
Johnson graduated from U-M with a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature (’68) and was appointed assistant professor of English in the same year. Rising rapidly through the ranks, he eventually became the director of the Center for Afroamerican and African Studies (CAAS), 1985–1991.
“This is a tremendous loss to CAAS as well as the entire U-M community,” said James Jackson, director, CAAS. “Lemuel Johnson was brilliant, which is not too strong of a word.”
Johnson’s scholarly interests ranged over the globe, which he traveled widely. Besides Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian, German and English, he was fluent in Krio (his national language), Yoruba, Hausa and Igbo. As a leading scholar of the African diaspora, he was especially interested in American, Latin American, Caribbean and African literature.
Demanding, committed and charismatic, he was deeply concerned with preparing students to live in and to appreciate the diversity and complexity of the human experience on a global scale. As an instructor to students, he sought to “detoxify” the noxious consequences of racialist thought and imaginings.
“He also made significant contributions to junior people in the department by helping to bring them along,” said Jackson. “CAAS is just 32 years old, and he was a remarkable part of it.”
The recipient of several U-M awards, Johnson was a published author, writing books of scholarly criticism. He essentially had completed a seventh book at the time of his death.
His wife, Marian; a daughter, Yma; a son, Yshelu; a granddaughter, Shekinah; and a host of family and friends survive Johnson. Memorial donations should be sent to: The Lemuel Johnson Church Fund, National City Bank, 505 E. Liberty, Ann Arbor, Mich., 48104. The contributions will aid in the reconstruction of Holy Trinity Church, Freetown, Sierra Leone, which was severely damaged in a recent conflict.
Gwynn S. McPeek
Gwynn Spencer McPeek, 86, died of cancer March 10, at his Ann Arbor home.
McPeek was a professor of musicology specializing in medieval church history, 1968–80. He also taught at Tulane University in New Orleans, 1949–63 and at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, 1963–1968.
McPeek received a bachelor of arts degree cum laude in music education from Ohio State University, a master’s of music from Indiana University–Bloomington and a Ph.D. in musicology from the University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill.
McPeek, the recipient of Fulbright, Ford, Carnegie and other research grants, was a member of the American Musicological Association.
He is survived by his wife, Mary Liming McPeek; a son, John Spencer McPeek II; a daughter, Mary Ann Fraley; two sisters, Sister Betty Gittins and Sister Mary Etta Kiefer; and four grandchildren.
Contributions in honor of the deceased may be made to St. Thomas the Apostle Church, Ann Arbor 48105, or Individualized Hospice Patient Care Fund, Ann Arbor.
—Submitted by Mary Etta Kiefer
