Highly Regarded Professor Of Ethnic Studies Dies at 70

Ronald Takaki, a retired ethnic studies professor at UC Berkeley, died on Tuesday in an apparent suicide. He was 70.

Takaki suffered from multiple sclerosis, an autoimmune condition that attacks the central nervous system, for about 15 years, according to his son Troy Takaki.

Ronald Takaki earned a Ph.D. in history in 1967 from UC Berkeley after earning a bachelor's degree in history in 1961 and a master's degree in 1962 from The College of Wooster in Ohio, according to UC Berkeley spokesperson Yasmin Anwar.

Ronald Takaki got his first job teaching UCLA's first black history course for five years, according to Anwar.

"(Ronald Takaki's) scholarship provides historical and conceptual lenses to look at U.S. history in a way that recognizes both the effects of race thinking and racism in the formation of U.S. society, and the substantial contributions of those often deemed not worthy of U.S. American citizenship," said Nelson Maldonado-Torres, an ethnic studies professor and a former colleague of Ronald Takaki.

Ronald Takaki then became the first full-time teacher in the ethnic studies department, teaching for over 30 years before retiring in 2003, according to department chair Beatriz Manz.

"He was always teaching very large classes because of his reputation as an excellent teacher," Manz said. "Ron was very involved with the campus and his students, particularly minority students, who felt that they had a friend and advocate in Ron."

Because of his reputation and campus involvement, Ronald Takaki was presented with the campus's Distinguished Teaching Award by the Berkeley faculty in 1981.

"My interest in teaching and

research springs from a fundamental concern for the quality of our society, particularly in the area of race relations," Ronald Takaki said in a statement in 1981 when he accepted the award.

Ronald Takaki served as chair of the ethnic studies department from 1975 to 1977 and is responsible for establishing the nation's first doctorate program for ethnic studies in 1980, according to Maldonado-Torres.

Along with establishing the program, Ronald Takaki helped create UC Berkeley's American Cultures graduation requirement, as he was looking to greater diversify students' education, Maldonado-Torres added.

"He was a titan in the struggle to decolonize historical scholarship and to make higher learning more sophisticated in the United States," Maldonado-Torres said.

Along with his accomplishments as a teacher, Ronald Takaki authored several books including his 1989 book "Strangers from a Different Shore: A History of Asian Americans" that was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize.

"(Ronald Takaki) was a highly regarded scholar with a national and international reputation," Manz said. "But what is particular about him was that he was a powerful public intellectual, being widely read by people out of academics."

Ronald Takaki is remembered by friends and family as always being easygoing and kindhearted.

"He was calm, kind and conciliatory, always trying to find a common ground and that's something that I really appreciated about him," Manz said. "He cared about injustice, discrimination and diversity on campus and advocated for that."

Ronald Takaki is survived by his wife, three children and numerous other family members, Anwar said.

Plans for a campus memorial service are pending.

Tags: PROFESSOR RONALD TAKAKI, DEPARTMENT OF ETHNIC STUDIES