Frederic E. Rusch ’62

Frederic E. Rusch ’62 of Terre Haute, Indiana, passed away on March 26. Born in Plymouth, Wisconsin, on April 29, 1940, Fred came to Dartmouth from Eau Claire, Wisconsin. A modified religion major, Fred joined Phi Kappa Psi and played varsity squash and tennis during his four years at Dartmouth, graduating in 1962. After a brief tenure at Yale Divinity School as a chaplain he moved to Fairfield, Iowa. There he began teaching humanities at Parsons College and earned an M.A. in English at the University of Iowa (1966), later teaching English as a tenured professor at Indiana State University, where he completed a master of library sciences in 1972. Fred then attended the University of Leeds in England, where he completed his Ph.D. in bibliography and textual criticism in 1984. His thesis, “A Critical Edition of Theodore Dreiser’s The Hand of the Potter,” led to multiple publications in scholarly journals. He became editor of the Dreiser Studies from 1990 to 1997 and cofounder of the International Theodore Dreiser Society in 1991. By 1997 he also became associate vice president for academic affairs and executive director of sponsored programs at Indiana State. Fred is survived by his wife of 29 years, Yvonne, and four children.