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Page Contents:
Former UC President Clark Kerr dies at 92
Sociologist John Kitsuse, internment camp survivor,
dies at 80
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December 8, 2003
In Memoriam
Former UC President Clark Kerr
dies at 92
![](../art/kerr_clark.200.jpg) |
Clark Kerr speaking at a UC Berkeley convocation
on December 7, 1964.
Photo: Steven Marcus |
Clark Kerr, who created the blueprint for public higher education in
California while president of the University of California, died peacefully
in his sleep at his home in El Cerrito, Calif., on December 1. He was
92.
Kerr served as chancellor of the UC Berkeley campus from 1952 to 1958
and as president of the UC system from 1958 to 1967. As UC president,
he was the chief architect of California's Master Plan for Higher Education,
which guided California public higher education for four decades and is
still a national model.
When Kerr became UC president, UC Berkeley and UCLA were the primary
campuses with specialized instruction offered at other campuses located
around the state. By the time he departed in 1967, the nine-campus UC
system was in place, and enrollment had doubled to 87,000 students. During
his tenure, he oversaw the addition of the UC Irvine, UC San Diego, and
UC Santa Cruz campuses.
See full text of UC Berkeley press
release; New York Times
obituary
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Sociologist John Kitsuse,
internment camp survivor, dies at 80
John I. Kitsuse, a second-generation Japanese American who was imprisoned
in an internment camp during World War II and became a leading scholar
in the field of sociology, died Thursday, November 27, at his home in
Santa Cruz after suffering a stroke the day before. He was 80 years
old.
![](../art/kitsuse_john.160.jpg) |
John Kitsuse
Photo: UCSC Photo Services, 1977
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Kitsuse, a professor emeritus of sociology at UC Santa Cruz, was one
of the premier theorists in the field of social problems and deviant
behavior. He had a wide range of academic interests, including education,
sexuality, and crime, but was primarily known for developing the theory
of social construction, which explored how social problems come to be
understood as social problems.
As a young Fulbright scholar, Kitsuse traveled to Japan 40 years ago,
establishing professional affiliations that shaped much of his early
work, said his friend and colleague Hiroshi Fukurai, associate professor
of sociology at UCSC.
While in Japan, Kitsuse studied a method of prisoner rehabilitation
called naikan that requires inmates to reflect on the shame their
actions had brought to family members and loved ones, and introduced
the method to American scholars. "That concept was very alien in
the United States," said Fukurai.
Kitsuse later addressed a major social problem that confronted Japan
in the 1980s as a byproduct of that countrys "economic miracle."
After being raised overseas, many children of Japanese business executives
returned to Japan and struggled to readjust to a culture theyd
never known, said Fukurai.
"John Kitsuse was, without a doubt, the most famous American sociologist
in Japan, especially in the field of criminology, deviance, and social
problems," said Fukurai, noting that Kitsuses signature text,
Constructing Social Problems, coauthored by Malcolm Spector, was translated
into Japanese.
Kitsuse, who joined the UCSC faculty in 1974 and retired in 1991, served
as president of the Society for the Study of Social Problems from 1978
to 1979. He was vice chair of the UCSC Academic Senate from 1979 to 1980
and was chair of sociology from 1985 to 1988 and for two quarters in 1980.
Kitsuse earned his bachelors degree from Boston University and
his masters and Ph.D. from UCLA. Before arriving at Santa Cruz,
Kitsuse was affiliated with the University of Washington, San Diego State
University, and Northwestern University.
Kitsuse is survived by his wife, Katherine Kitsuse; his son Edward;
his daughter Alicia; and two grandsons, Nolan and Christopher.
A memorial service is planned for the spring. The family requests that
donations in Kitsuses memory be directed to the UCSC Sociology Department.
Donations can be sent to: UC Santa Cruz Foundation--Kitsuse Memorial,
Attn: John Leopold, Social Sciences I, 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA
95064.
-Jennifer McNulty
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