November 21, 2016
Dear Members of our Campus Community:
I am saddened to report that Professor Emeritus of French Ernest Sturm passed away in the early morning of October 28, 2016, in the French Alps town of Montaimont (Savoie), with his wife, Fuka, at his side.
Dr. Sturm joined our Department of French and Italian on July 1, 1966, and retired on June 29, 2011. Among his numerous publications are three books devoted to the eighteenth-century novelist Crébillon fils, of whose writings Ernest was the leading international expert. He wrote a widely praised study of Camus and Dostoyevsky, and translated two volumes of the essays of the eminent literary critic René Wellek, as well as a study of the poet Mallarmé by Jean-Paul Sartre. In addition to publishing a wellreceived novel in French, he wrote a play that was produced by our College of Creative Studies. Dr. Sturm’s lectures on French literature, especially following the death of Sartre in 1980, were recognized by the French government, which in 1991 named him Chevalier in the Order of the Academic Palms, and soon after promoted him to the rank of Officer.
Born in Vienna, Ernest and his family escaped the Nazis by first moving to Bogota, Colombia, and then settling in New York City. Ernest was a graduate of Brown University (1955) and NYU Law School (1959), and he practiced law in New York City and Washington, D.C., for a number of years. He then turned his attention to French literature and earned a Ph.D. in Romance Languages from Columbia University in 1967. He often spent summers in France, where he was well acquainted with the leading figures in literature and philosophy.
A popular teacher in our College of Letters and Science and College of Creative Studies, Professor Sturm taught courses on the Enlightenment and on Existentialism, including such courses as “The Power of Negative Thinking.” He was fluent in French, German, and Spanish, as well as English.
Our thoughts are with his wife, Fuka; his step-son, Boris; and all of his family members, friends, and colleagues around the world. Our campus flag will be lowered in his honor on December 1.
Sincerely,
Henry T. Yang
Chancellor