The University Record, February 20, 1995
OBITUARY
Claude A. Eggertsen
Claude A. Eggertsen, professor emeritus of education, died Feb. 9 at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital. He was 85.
A pioneer in the field of international and comparative education, Eggertsen joined the U-M in 1939. He established exchange programs with the universities of Bombay, Keele, Sheffield and Edinburgh, and directed study programs in Japan, Mexico, England and India. In 1961, he founded the journal Notes and Abstracts in American and International Education.
Eggertsen was a prolific writer and editor, and also hosted radio and television programs on the history of education. In addition, he supervised the dissertations of 82 doctoral students.
During his tenure here, Eggertsen was a leader in establishing the faculty’s role in the administration of the University. Following his retirement, he helped found Historica Critica, a group of faculty who helped establish the position of University Historian.
His former students have established the Claude A. Eggertsen Award in Education History and Philosophy at the School of Education and sponsor the Claude A. Eggertsen lecture, given at the annual conference of the Comparative and International Education Society.
Born Feb. 25, 1909, in Thistle, Utah, Eggertsen received his B.A. and M.A. from Brigham Young University and a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota.
He married Nita Wakefield of Provo, Utah, who predeceased him. He is survived by two sons, Claude W. of Shelby Township, Mich., and John H. of Bloomfield Hills; one daughter, Sheary Jill Fairbanks of Rochester, Minn.; 10 grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Memorial services will be held at 10 a.m. today (Feb. 20) at the LDS Church, 1385 Green Road. Burial will take place in Provo, Utah, alongside his wife.
Memorial contributions may be made to either the Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studies for the Claude A. Eggertsen Dissertation Prize for the History of Education or to the School of Music’s Theatre Department for the Nita Wakefield Eggertsen Performing Arts Scholarship.
