Uni mourns death of Duke community members

Louis Budd, James B. Duke professor emeritus of English

Louis Budd, James B. Duke professor emeritus of English, passed away Dec. 20 in Arizona. He was 89 years old.

Budd, a leading Mark Twain scholar, taught at Duke for 44 years and served as chair of the Afro-American Studies program from 1968 to 1970. He also chaired the English department from 1973 to 1979.

Budd was born in 1921 in St. Louis, Mo. and was the last of three children in his family. He graduated from high school at age 15 and attended the University of Missouri, where he studied English.

In 1949, Budd earned his doctorate in American literature from the University of Wisconsin. He taught at the University of Kentucky at Lexington from 1949 to 1952 before relocating to Duke, where he remained until his retirement.

During his time at Duke, Budd had an illustrious career as a professor, writer and editor of various publications.

He published his first book, “Mark Twain: Social Philosopher,” in 1962 and received a Guggenheim Fellowship three years later.

In 1979, Budd became managing editor of the journal American Literature and also served as an editor for Duke University Press.

Anne Schroder, curator and academic program coordinator at the Nasher Museum of Art, passed away Dec. 23 in Chapel Hill. She was 56 years old.

Schroder worked at Duke for more than a decade, beginning in 1999 at the former Duke University Museum of Art. Since the Nasher opened in 2005, she oversaw museum exhibitions, worked with faculty to compile exhibitions and supervised the museum’s internship program. She was also an adjunct assistant professor of art history.

Family and friends remember Schroder for her passion for art, warmth and intellect.

Schroder graduated from Smith College with a bachelor’s degree in art history. She earned her master’s and doctoral degrees in art history from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Before coming to Duke, Schroder served as curator at the Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art at the University of Florida and the Museum of Fine Arts, Springfield. She also taught art history at the University of Florida and the University of Minnesota.

During her time at Duke, Schroder discovered that an anonymous work at the Nasher was painted by Francois Gerard, a famous French artist. Schroder and conservator Ruth Cox presented their findings to the American Society for Eighteenth Century Studies.

“It’s a curator’s dream,” Schroder said at the time.

Tianjian Shi, professor of political science

Political Science Professor Tianjian Shi passed away Dec. 25 at age 59.

Shi, who went by “TJ” in the United States, joined Duke’s faculty in 1993. He worked closely with the Asian and Pacific Studies Center and founded the China Election Study Group.

Shi was known for the three loves of his life: family, China and democratic policy.

He was part of the first wave of Chinese students who pursued advanced studies in the United States following the Chinese Cultural Revolution.

After graduating from Peking University in China, Shi earned his doctorate in political science from Columbia University.

Shi conducted the majority of his research on Chinese political participation, and he published his first book “Political Participation in Beijing,” in 1997. It was the first of five books and monographs.

Throughout his career, Shi’s research was published in numerous publications including World Politics, Daedalus and Asian Survey. His most recent project, funded by the National Science Foundation and Henry Luce Foundation, focused on political culture and participation in mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

He was passionate about elections in China and conducted several scholarly investigations on the subject.

Harry Owen, Pratt professor emeritus

Pratt School of Engineering Professor Emeritus Harry Owen passed away Jan. 5 at age 91.

Owen is remembered for his wide array of interests, ranging from electronics and photography to religion and fishing.

After serving as a U.S. Navy radar instructor in World War II, Owen received degrees in electrical engineering from the University of Florida and a doctorate from North Carolina State University.

In 1951, he joined Duke’s electrical engineering department as a teacher and researcher, a post he held for 40 years. During his sabbaticals from Duke, Owen worked for NASA and the European Space Agency.

Owen served as a mentor to many Asian graduate students and became fascinated with Chinese culture, learning to cook native dishes.

In Durham, Owen attended the Epworth United Methodist Church where his contributions included serving as a Sunday school teacher and administrative board member.

During his retirement at the Forest at Duke community, Owen served on the board of directors of the Residents Association, as chair of the Safety and Security Committee and as a member of two planning committees.

Owen also enjoyed traveling, making visits to Asia, Africa, South America and Europe with his wife.

Owen is survived by his wife Phyllis, brother Mitchell and sisters Emily and Carolyn, daughter Marcia and son David, as well as several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.