After joining the university (then Colorado A&M) in 1947, he was instrumental in the department of civil engineering earning and establishing its reputation as a world leader in water research. In the process, he enabled CSU to make one of its first, important steps forward as a research university by helping attract the institution's first doctoral student and future president, Ray Chamberlain. Driven by a passion both personal and professional, Professor Albertson spent much of his life seeking ways to improve quality of life for people and communities worldwide. He saw one of his greatest successes in this arena when he played a central role in the creation of the Peace Corps. He directed the original Peace Corps feasibility study for the Congress, and with colleagues Pauline Birkey-Kreutzer and Andrew Rice, laid out a model for how an engaged and focused corps of volunteers could make a difference on a global scale.
Anthony A. Frank, interim president of Colorado State University, writes: Honor professor Maury Albertson with your actions
Honor professor with your actions
Anthony A. Frank • February 14, 2009
The official CSU flag is at half-staff this weekend in honor of Professor Emeritus Maury Albertson.
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Professor Albertson's life and work will be celebrated today in a memorial ceremony here in Fort Collins, an opportunity for those who loved and admired him to honor his memory and a life well-lived. But even as we acknowledge that our world is better for his life and poorer with his recent passing, Albertson's legacy lives on at Colorado State University in a sustained commitment to service and international involvement.
Professor Albertson served a number of roles during his nearly six decades at CSU- faculty member, first director of the CSU Research Foundation, founder and director of the Office of International Programs.
After joining the university (then Colorado A&M) in 1947, he was instrumental in the department of civil engineering earning and establishing its reputation as a world leader in water research. In the process, he enabled CSU to make one of its first, important steps forward as a research university by helping attract the institution's first doctoral student and future president, Ray Chamberlain.
Driven by a passion both personal and professional, Professor Albertson spent much of his life seeking ways to improve quality of life for people and communities worldwide.
He saw one of his greatest successes in this arena when he played a central role in the creation of the Peace Corps. He directed the original Peace Corps feasibility study for the Congress, and with colleagues Pauline Birkey-Kreutzer and Andrew Rice, laid out a model for how an engaged and focused corps of volunteers could make a difference on a global scale.
He later went on to found the nonprofit Village Earth to assist villagers worldwide with community development.
It is no overstatement to say that Professor Albertson was one of the great figures in the history of CSU. And while our campus community honors his memory, we also recognize that his commitment to education, research and service in the public interest continues on through the work of CSU's faculty, students, staff and alumni today. Consider a few recent examples:
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Litto Suu, a CSU veterinary student, is working with Professor Mo Salman to establish a national animal health program in Armenia to promote a safer food supply and prevent animal diseases that can spread to the human population.
Last month, Professor Brian Dunbar of our construction management department took 20 students to study sustainable development and green building in Costa Rica where the challenges of preserving a rich and fragile ecological heritage are immediate and real.
Professor and regional economist Martin Shields has studied the prevalence and impact of poverty in Northern Colorado to help local communities better understand the problem as they seek to provide services and solutions.
Maury Albertson recognized early on that a land-grant university such as CSU had the research capacity and service mission to be a dynamic force for positive change in the world. His work helped CSU extend its original land-grant mission to address global, as well as regional, concerns - and to cement its now longstanding commitment to civic responsibility, international engagement and service to society.
These values, championed by Maury Albertson, and now so central to a CSU education, are embodied today in the ongoing life and mission of CSU. For that, we all owe him a debt of thanks.
But I think Maury would have argued that he would prefer our action to our thanks and he would have encouraged us to make a positive difference in our world. Let's all try to live up to his expectations.
Anthony A. Frank is the interim president of Colorado State University.
