Albertson came to Fort Collins and Colorado A&M, which is now Colorado State University, in 1947. He was the first director of the CSU Research Foundation and was director of the university’s International Programs. Albertson was one of the architects of the Peace Corps, which was launched during the Kennedy administration as a vehicle for international humanitarian work. He and colleagues Andrew Rice and Pauline Birkey-Kreutzer wrote a book that set up the basic design of the program. He served as a consultant to the World Bank, the United Nations Development Program, UNESCO and the Agency for International Development. He directed a CSU project that helped establish the Asian Institute of Technology in Bangkok, Thailand. In a prepared statement, CSU interim President Tony Frank said Albertson will be remembered “as one of the truly great figures” in the school’s history. He was an innovative teacher and scholar and dedicated humanitarian, Frank said. “CSU is grateful and honored to have been professor Albertson’s academic home,” he said.
Peace Corps architect Maury Albertson dies in Colorado
CSU icon, Peace Corps architect dies
By Kevin Duggan • For Loveland Connection
January 13, 2009
Maurice "Maury" Albertson, a CSU professor emeritus who was one of the architects of the Peace Corps, died Sunday at age 90.
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Albertson died at Columbine Care Center West after a brief illness, family friend Mims Harris said. He fell ill with a lung disease following a trip to Indonesia in November and did not recover.
Friends remembered Albertson on Monday as a person who was dedicated to improving the living conditions of people around the world.
“He was a remarkable man,” said Ed Shinn, a fellow civil engineer and longtime friend. “He had tremendous drive to see that the poor of this world were included in acts of development.”
Shinn traveled with Albertson on his final trip to Jakarta to teach a doctorate-level class on sustainable development. Albertson was “from the old school of engineering but he was from the new school in terms of his love of people,” Shinn said.
Albertson came to Fort Collins and Colorado A&M, which is now Colorado State University, in 1947. He was the first director of the CSU Research Foundation and was director of the university’s International Programs.
Albertson was one of the architects of the Peace Corps, which was launched during the Kennedy administration as a vehicle for international humanitarian work. He and colleagues Andrew Rice and Pauline Birkey-Kreutzer wrote a book that set up the basic design of the program.
He served as a consultant to the World Bank, the United Nations Development Program, UNESCO and the Agency for International Development. He directed a CSU project that helped establish the Asian Institute of Technology in Bangkok, Thailand.
In a prepared statement, CSU interim President Tony Frank said Albertson will be remembered “as one of the truly great figures” in the school’s history. He was an innovative teacher and scholar and dedicated humanitarian, Frank said.
“CSU is grateful and honored to have been professor Albertson’s academic home,” he said.
Neil Grigg, a professor of civil engineering at CSU, met Albertson as a grad student in the late ’60s. Over the years they worked together on many projects focusing on engineering education and international development.
Albertson truly believed in a land-grant university’s mission of service, Grigg said. He spoke often about developing a plan to end poverty, including during his final days in hospice.
“I thought that was remarkable,” Grigg said. “Even as he dealt with his own troubles, he spoke about eliminating poverty on a global scale.”
Albertson founded Village Earth, a nonprofit dedicated to sustainable development, and remained active in the organization through the final years of his life.
Mark Horowitz, former executive director and board member of Village Earth, said Albertson never let up pushing to help other people through the organization.
“His health declined, but he didn’t stop,” Horowitz said. “I think I remember him telling me a story that his father said the reason we’re on Earth is to help others, and that was another guiding philosophy of his.”
Village Earth helps developing villages create central plans for the future that they can implement and maintain, he said.
“It’s an attempt to overcome the hurdle that Maury saw in so many development projects,” Horowitz said. “An agency would come in and implement their plan in the village, and it wasn’t what the village wanted. Then a few years later, the project would fail.”
Albertson was born and raised in Hays, Kan. As a child, he witnessed the economic hardship of the Great Depression and what prolonged drought did to the land.
That experience inspired him to focus his work and research on water resources, according to an autobiographical piece he published in 1998.
Albertson was named a centennial professor by the College of Engineering in 1970. He received emeritus status in 1998. In 2006, CSU honored Albertson with an honorary doctorate for his humanitarian work.
Albertson is survived by his wife, Audrey Faulkner, and four adult children: Kay Albertson Reed, Sarah Albertson, Ann Yeager and Robert Faulkner.
Coloradoan reporter Hallie Woods contributed to this report.
