In many ways, Regents Professor of Geography Emeritus John Borchert was CURA’s Founding Father. He served as our first director from 1968 to 1976, and during that time he established much of the fundamental philosophy that CURA has followed ever since.
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John Robert Borchert
October 24, 1918–
March 30, 2001 |
Some of John’s philosophy was elaborated in the introduction to CURA: The First Seven Years (1975). He viewed CURA as “an addition to . . . a long-standing community service effort [at the University]. CURA’s role is to sponsor projects which cross disciplinary and collegiate lines, address major problems in the wider community, coordinate university and community resources, stimulate new programs to make the University more responsive to community needs, and increase the constructive interaction between faculty, students, and persons dealing directly with major public problems.”
John Borchert was the personification of what a great professor ought to be. He authored seminal reports for CURA on subjects as diverse as the economic impact of the Mall of America, patterns of public college enrollment, the changing demographics of Minnesota, the future of urban transportation, and land values and land use in the Upper Midwest. His scholarship was rich, creative, and careful. He taught everyone who came in contact with him. And he cared deeply about Minnesota and the Upper Midwest.
John died on March 30, 2001, at the age of 82, but his legacy at CURA is very much alive and well.
Obituary from Urban Geography (PDF)
John Borchert Memorial Website
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