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Memoir
Francis Day Curtis
Regent's Proceedings 1170
Regent's Proceedings 1170
On August 1, 1953, Dr. Francis Day Curtis, Professor of Education and of the Teaching of Science, was retired at his own request from active duty as a member of our faculty.
The Regents of the University, who at that time conferred upon Dr. Curtis the title Professor Emeritus of Education, now extend to him their warm thanks for his outstanding service to the University.
A graduate of the University of Oregon in 1911 and the recipient of the A.M. degree from that university in 1922 and of the Ph.D. degree from Columbia University in 1924, Dr. Curtis joined the staff of the School of Education in the same year. For the next twenty-nine years he played a prominent part in the affairs of his School, serving upon his arrival in Ann Arbor as head of the Department of Science in the University High School and from 1941 to 1947 as secretary of the School of Education.
His contributions as a teacher and critic have been markedly effective in the work of the many teachers who studied with him. The high opinion of his fellow scholars is reflected in their election of him to the chairmanship of many committees. His chairmanship from 1947 to 1952 of the Committee on Research in Teaching of Science of the United States Office of Education is typical of these honors.
As author of textbooks for secondary schools and as a writer of critical evaluations of teaching methods his constructive influence has been far reaching.
The Regents of the University of Michigan express to Professor Francis Day Curtis their appreciation of his valuable and distinguished services and invite him to avail himself of all the courtesies customarily extended to emeritus members of the faculty.