Memorial Resolution of the Faculty of the University of Wisconsin-Madison on the Death of Professor Emeritus Charles A. Wedemeyer

Charles A. Wedemeyer, William H. Lighty Professor of Education (Emeritus) of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and University of Wisconsin-Extension, died on August 1, 1999 in Huntsville, Alabama. He was born on September 8, 1911 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the son of Adrian August Wedemeyer and Laura Marie Marks Wedemeyer. His education included a Bachelor of Science in Education from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a major in English and a Masters in Education from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, also in English. World War II sadly interrupted his PhD. He was however awarded numerous honorary degrees including honorary doctorates from Oxford University and University of Ethiopia.

He was named the William H. Lighty Professor in Education in 1967. The William H. Lighty chair enabled Wedemeyer to develop a new discipline in the field of education -non-traditional learning. This new discipline integrated adult, distance, open and independent learning with instructional systems design, applications of instructional technology, organizational development and evaluation. Professor Wedemeyer is best known throughout the world for his efforts to extend learning opportunities to populations traditionally excluded from formal education -the poor, the geographically isolated, the handicapped, the socially over-burdened, and the very bright for which traditional schooling had little to offer. His work on learning theory and the sociology of nontraditional learners has drawn the attention of students and scholars from throughout the world.