Deaths: Ward Weldon, education

Ward W. Weldon

A memorial service will be held Monday for Ward W. Weldon, 77, associate professor of educational policy studies, who died Feb. 12 after a stroke.

The service will begin at 1 p.m. in the Illinois Room, Student Center East.

One of the College of Education’s longest-serving faculty members, he joined UIC in 1969. An expert in school finance, his research focused on school improvement and the financial support of school reform, as well as how school programs contribute to student achievement.

“He always told us he wanted to leave this earth while doing what he loved best — teaching and working with students — and that is exactly what he did,” said Victoria Chou, dean of the College of Education.

“Ward was my teacher here about 25 years ago,” said Joshua Radinsky, associate professor of curriculum and instruction. “When I first came to work at UIC many years later, he not only remembered me, he also remembered a paper I had written in his class, and asked me about my journey in between.”

Weldon left high school early to attend Graceland College, then moved to Colombia to teach English. He then traveled to Germany, where he helped build housing for Hungarian refugees. After that, he joined the Marines.

After military service, Weldon earned a bachelor’s in journalism from the University of Kansas and a master’s degree in public relations from the University of Iowa. He worked as a public information director and editor at several organizations, including Evanston Township High School and the National Foundation for Funeral Service, before earning an MBA from the University of Chicago and a Ph.D. in education from Northwestern University.

Weldon was the author of more than 35 published journal articles, contributed several chapters to textbooks and co-authored another book.

He was a consultant and teacher around the world and his work was funded by the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, U.S. Agency for International Development and other organizations.

He was a consultant for several Chicago schools and the Cook County correctional system.

The College of Education has established a scholarship in his name. Send contributions to: Dr. Ward Weldon Scholarship Fund, Office of Advancement (MC 309), 1040 W. Harrison, Suite 4018, Chicago, IL 60607.

For more information, contact Helen Drew at heubanks@uic.edu or 312-996-8032.