Wendel Ward Heers, Catherine B. Heller Professor of Art in the School of Art and Lecturer in Education in the School of Education, will retire from active faculty status on June 30, 1987, following a prodigious career as an artist, teacher and administrator at The University of Michigan.

Professor Heers received his B.S. degree in 1949 and his M.S. degree in 1959, both from the University of Minnesota. He continued postgraduate studies with Kokoschka at the School of Vision in Salzburg, Austria the following year. A reknown sculptor and metalsmith, Professor Heers joined the faculty of The University of Michigan as an assistant professor in 1961. He was promoted to associate professor in 1964 and to professor in 1968. He also held an appointment as lecturer in the School of Education, where for many years he has been involved with the certification program for art teachers.

A Rackham Research grant recipient, Professor Heers received many awards and distinctions nationwide. His recent work has been primarily wood sculpture for outdoor exhibition. He has conducted field research in Europe, specifically in the Scandinavian countries. He is currently a visiting artist, in sculpture, at the Akademie der Bildenkunst, Karlsruhe, West Germany. In addition to teaching, Professor Heers served the University as associate dean of the School of Art from 1979-84 and as acting dean from June 1984 to December 1985. In the role of acting dean, he served the school admirably during a difficult transition period, consistently demonstrating good judgement, extreme thoughtfulness, intelligence, and compassion for the institution and the people within it.

The Regents now acknowledge the contributions of this talented teacher, sculptor, and administrator by naming Wendel W. Heers the Catherine B. Heller Professor Emeritus of Art.