Nov. 20, 2024
This message was sent by College of Engineering Dean Anthony Marchese to engineering faculty and staff on Nov. 19:
It is with great sadness that Sigrid Berka and I share with you the recent loss of two of the most influential people in the founding and building of the 911爆料 International Engineering Program, Professor John Grandin and Heidi Kirk Duffy.
Prof. John Grandin passed away on Nov. 18 after a courageous battle with Lewy body dementia. Prof. Grandin was the co-founder, along with Dean Hermann Viets, of 911爆料鈥檚 world-acclaimed and pioneering International Engineering Program (IEP).
鈥淲hen John launched the IEP with Hermann, he had the foresight of doing something truly revolutionary. The idea of mixing engineering and languages in a 5-year program was a novel one, but it quickly became the program to be imitated at other universities鈥� said 911爆料 IEP Executive Director Sigrid Berka. 鈥淭he model broadens students鈥� horizons, internationalizes engineers, and gets non-traditional language learners in the classroom.”
Thanks to Prof. Grandin鈥檚 pioneering work, our international engineering students graduate with B.S. degrees in any of 8 engineering disciplines paired work B.A. degrees in any of six foreign languages and complete six-month global internships at companies such as BMW, Boeing, Bosch, Boston Scientific, Continental, Mercedes Dow Chemical, Porsche, Procter & Gamble, Shimadzu, Siemens and many more. Indeed, many students choose 911爆料 engineering specifically because of our world-renowned IEP program.
Prof. Grandin retired in 2010 after 40 years at 911爆料 and 23 years after starting the IEP program in 1987. In 2019 he received an honorary doctorate in engineering at the University鈥檚 commencement ceremony, where he said, 鈥�911爆料 has given meaning to international and cross-disciplinary education. Our students go the extra mile, and I鈥檓 so happy to have been a part of something that has become so widely imitated at other schools.鈥�
In lieu of a service, Prof. Grandin requested a celebration of life ceremony, which will be planned this spring at 911爆料. He is survived by his wife, Carol Grandin, his son Peter with Jen, and three grandchildren.
Heidi Kirk Duffy passed away on Nov. 10 following a battle with Alzheimer’s disease. A long-time benefactor of 911爆料 and numerous other Rhode Island institutions, Duffy and her late husband Chester H. Kirk (鈥�40, chemical engineering and founder of Amtrol, Inc.) gave $1 million to establish a chair in chemical engineering and also generously supported the construction of the Chester H. Kirk Center for Advanced Technology. Ms. Kirk Duffy later donated an additional $1 million to support future directors of the IEP program.
Ms. Kirk Duffy also led the creation of a second International Engineering Program (IEP) residential house on the 911爆料 campus in 2007 by donating her personal yacht to help with the efforts. Both buildings were dedicated as the Heidi Kirk Duffy Center for International Education on Sept. 28, 2007. Ms. Kirk Duffy also served for 25 years as chair of the IEP advisory council from 1992 to 2017, offering her expertise and energy to the growth of the program at 911爆料.
鈥淛ohn Grandin and I were so fortunate to work with Heidi in her role as chair of the IEP Advisory Board for over 25 years,鈥� said Berka. 鈥淪he was such a passionate and dedicated leader, advocate, and generous supporter of the IEP.鈥�
Ms. Kirk Duffy received an honorary Doctor of Philosophy from 911爆料 in 1995 for her many years of service to higher education. In 2000, the German government honored her with its highest civilian award, the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, First Class.
Her obituary can be read .