In Memoriam:
Ronald K. Teeples P'91, Longtime Professor and Founder of the
Jazz History Program at CMC

Memorial services will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 13 at the Latter-Day Saints Church in Claremont for longtime Claremont McKenna College faculty member Ronald K. Teeples P'91, the Boswell Professor of Economics. Professor Teeples, 72, died Sept. 4 at Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center, surrounded by his wife, Sandy, and children Ryan '91 and Jill.
Ron Teeples, who retired from the College in spring 2007, joined the College's department of economics in 1969 and would later serve nearly 15 years as director of the Claremont McKenna College Practicum Program. During his faculty years, he would enrich the department's curriculum with courses he created in environmental economics and real estate economics, and co-teach classes in ethics and management.
Longtime friend Marc Massoud P'89, the Robert A. Day Distinguished Professor of Accounting, says Professor Teeples was the first faculty member he met at CMC, and a major factor in his own decision to join the College staff a decade later. At the time, Professor Teeples was department chair.
"He was an example to follow in his behavior, commitment, and dedication to the College," Massoud recalls. "He loved CMC, and he loved the students. He was one of the few who understood what an educator should bea teacher, researcher, and mentorand he did them all, and he did them well."
"His effect on his students is legendary," adds CMC Professor Emeritus Jerry Eyrich P'83, who taught with Professor Teeples for nearly three decades and considers him his longest and closest friend and colleague. "Graduates still talk about what they learned in their Practicum courses and the direct effect that the knowledge they gained in those courses had on their post-graduate successes."
As distinguished as his numerous years in the department of economics, Professor Teeples also leaves an impressive legacy with the jazz program he created at Claremont McKenna College, partially through his role as a member of the Board of Directors for the American Jazz Institute.
Although retired from CMC, Professor Teeples recently continued to teach its History 109 coursebetter known as jazz history. The College's jazz history program, which flourished because of his passion for, knowledge of, and dedication to music, had three components: bringing prominent jazz artists to campus, arranging for those artists to interact with Professor Teeples and students as part of its oral history research library archived at CMC, and enabling jazz history students and visiting artists to engage in classroom dialogues.
Recent examples of Professor Teeples' tireless work in this area include a campus visit by the renowned Bobby Bradford Mo'tet, a two-concert series at the Marian Miner Cook Athenaeum featuring musicians who performed with Duke Ellington's legendary orchestra, and a photography exhibit and book signing with modern jazz photographer Lee Tanner.
"Ron fostered a one-of-a-kind environment where the college community could be exposed to captivating jazz artists in intimate settings," recalls longtime friend and AJI Board member Mark Masters. "It is a rare person like Ron who makes a total commitment to a cause, and in Ron's case, the only true American art form: jazz."
American Jazz Institute Advisory Board member Reed Gratz, who has been a visiting professor of music in the history department at CMC, says one of his greatest honors was having Ron continually attend his classes at the University of La Verne. "For 10 years, he's listened more attentively than the students, congratulated me when I had a good day, and encouraged me and shared his own frustrations when I didn't," Gratz recalls. "He was always offering gentle suggestions and a compassionate ear."
Professor Teeples received his B.A. from Brigham Young University, his M.A. from the University of California, Berkeley, and his Ph.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles. He previously served as a research associate for the Institute of Government and Public Affairs at UCLA, and was on the Claremont Graduate University faculty.
While at Claremont McKenna, he held advisory appointments on the Board of Directors for The Reed Institute of Decision Sciences and The Gould Center for Humanistic Studies. He also was a member of the CMC search committees from 1988 to 2001 for the hiring of the new CMC President and the Dean of the Faculty. In his continuing support of the College, he was on campus as recently as May 31, leading a real estate symposium for guests of Alumni Weekend 2008. In recognition of his close ties with his former students, Professor Teeples was awarded an honorary membership in the CMC Alumni Association in 2003.
Saturday's service for Professor Teeples will be held at the Latter-Day Saints Church in Claremont, located at 728 E. Baseline Rd.
In lieu of flowers, family members have asked that donations be made to the Ronald K. Teeples P'91 Scholarship Fund at Claremont McKenna College, or to the American Jazz Institute, P.O. Box 5716, Pasadena, CA 91117.