WILLIAM KENNETH MEDLIN, Professor of Education, will retire from active faculty status on December 31, 1986, following 26 years of service to The University of Michigan.

Professor Medlin received the A.B. degree from The University of California at Berkeley in 1948, a Licence in 1949, and a Doc. es Sci. Morales degree in 1952, both from the University of Geneva in Switzerland. From 1952-60, he worked in various capacities at the Library of Congress, the Department of State, the U.S. Office of Education, and the University of Maryland. He joined The University of Michigan School of Education as an associate professor of education in 1960, and was promoted to professor of education in 1966. In 1973, he served as a program officer with the United Nations International Institute for Educational Planning, UNESCO, in Paris.

Professor Medlin specialized in educational planning and policy studies within the Program of Educational Foundations, Policy, and Administration in the School of Education. He also has been associated with the Center for Russian and East European Studies and the Center for Near East and North African Studies, where he was concerned with comparative and international methods in educational development in the United States and abroad. One interdisciplinary project marked the first occasion since 1930 that a team investigated the social institutions of the Soviet Union. More recently, Professor Medlin's research concerned issues in American educational policy and planning, particularly as they relate to the economic and social development of communities. Examples of his work include studies of the changing cognitive requirements for employees in Michigan as its economic base undergoes major transformation, as well as studies of the educational needs of learners living in economically depressed and rural communities undergoing basic socioeconomic change. His research has resulted in the publication of a series of major monographs, articles and chapters in juried publications.

He has served on several statewide committees and task forces, held a number of academic and visiting appointments and has consulted widely, both throughout the United States and abroad. In addition, he has long been active in local civic and social organizations, including the Ann Arbor Kiwanis Club.

The Regents now salute this distinguished educator for his numerous accomplishments by naming William Kenneth Medlin Professor Emeritus of Education.