Steps have been taken both in and outside the Tufts community to honor the memory of the late civil and environmental engineering lecturer Ronald Hirschfeld, who died of a heart attack earlier this month. A scholarship fund has been established in his name, and his daughter Amy has taken over instruction of his technical writing class at Tufts.
After her father's death, Tufts alumna Amy Hirschfeld approached the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department about taking over his class. The younger Hirschfeld is a technical editor for an archaeology journal at Harvard, where she is currently working on a Ph.D. in archaeology.
"She shared with her father a love of language and a love of writing," civil and environmental engineering professor Lewis Edgers said. "She had on occasion given guest lectures for the course. This is a great way for her to perpetuate the work of her father, and I think that's why she's doing it."
Amy Hirschfeld has already begun teaching the ES51 class, but the department has yet to determine who will teach the class next semester.
"I could not think of a better person to take Professor Hirschfeld's place," said junior Kenny William, a technical writing student. "She is intimately familiar with the ES51 course layout and style, and is actually going to use all of her father's notes to teach the rest of the material."
Although Amy Hirschfeld provides a replacement for the instruction of her father's class, the late professor's presence is still missed in the Tufts community.
"He was so smart but was never condescending. And he always considered everyone's opinions. Professor Hirschfeld was never afraid to be wrong - although he rarely was - and he loved learning from us. He treated us like colleagues, not students. We were his dutiful engineers, and he was our project manager," William said.
In addition to lecturing at Tufts, Hirschfeld was a prominent member of the local community, and many from the private and educational sectors are mourning his death. Although Hirschfeld's burial was private, his family plans to hold a public memorial service sometime this spring.
The late professor also taught civil engineering at MIT and Harvard, specializing in geotechnical engineering. In 1970, he left academia to help found Geotechnical Engineers, Inc., which later became GEI Consultants. Hirschfeld worked for the Winchester, MA-based company for over 22 years, eight of which he served as president.
GEI Consultants has established the Ronald C. Hirschfeld Education Fund in memory of Hirschfeld's life-long involvement with education. GEI will serve as custodian of the fund until details are determined by his family. Many of Hirschfeld's students at Tufts have already contributed to the fund.
"I think it's very important to perpetuate his memory by actions like this," Edgers said.
Contributions to the Ronald C. Hirschfeld Education Fund can be sent to 1021 Main St., Winchester, MA 01890.
Hirschfeld collapsed in his office in Anderson on the morning of March 7 while preparing for his class. Paramedics were called, but they were unable to revive him, and he was pronounced dead at Somerville Hospital. He was 70 years old.
