Frederick M. Asher ’63

Frederick M. Asher ’63 died June 26 after a long battle with four cancers. Rick was from a Dartmouth family in Highland Park, Illinois, and attended Highland Park High School, where he was editor-in-chief of the newspaper. At Dartmouth he worked for WDCR and majored in English. He earned a Ph.D. in art history at the University of Chicago. He taught graduate and undergraduate students at the University of Minnesota and worked with colleagues in the art history department. His sense of adventure and love of travel took him far and wide. He served many years as the chair of the art history department and as an associate dean. He also served in several professional roles, including as president and board chair of the American Institute of Indian Studies, president of the U.S. National Committee for the History of Art, and a founding member of the American Council for Southern Asian Art. His honors included the Morse Alumni Distinguished Teaching Award and the Distinguished Contributions to Asian Studies awarded by the Association for Asian Studies. He received two Fulbright scholarships. He was an amazing cook and grew orchids. With considerable exaggeration, Rick claimed to be able to recognize the voice of any opera singer from the beginning of recorded voices to about 1990. A few Russian and Bulgarian singers escaped him. He is survived by his wife and professional colleague of 52 years, Cathy, two children, and three grandchildren.