Spring Break
'Visionary' dean loses battle with cancer
Josh Weaver
Issue date: 4/5/07 Section: News
Six weeks after announcing she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, Dean Inger Sagatun-Edwards of the College of Applied Sciences and Arts addressed a standing room only crowd at a spring reception held in her honor with an oxygen tank at her side, said her assistant of two years Patricia Inghram.
Sagatun-Edwards died Monday morning succumbing to what Inghram called a very aggressive and rapid cancer.
"She was an incredible lady with an incredible amount of strength, she gave a remarkable presentation, making everyone feel at ease," Inghram said.
Inghram recalled Sagatun-Edwards' passion for her profession and as a person, who enjoyed laughing, was caring and selfless.
"Inger had an incredible sense of humor in any situation, Inghram said. "She loved being dean and we loved having her as our dean. She was an advocate for the faculty, staff and students of this college."
Retired Santa Clara County Judge Leonard Edwards, Inger's husband of 36 years said he is appreciative yet overwhelmed at all of the love that has been coming in via telephone calls and e-mails.
"I have never seen such an outpouring of love, respect and concern, Edwards said.
He said with a slight chuckle that it is a task managing all of the flowers and packages that he has received.
Edwards reminisced about his "marriage made in heaven."
"This is a great personal loss to our family," Edwards said. "We were in love with each other and lived together in a very happy marriage."
According to a campus-wide e-mail sent out by San Jose State University Provost Carmen Sigler, Sagatun-Edwards began her career at SJSU as a justice studies faculty member in 1975. She served for 12 years as the chairperson of the department of justice studies, and in 2005 took the helm as the dean of the College of Applied Sciences and Arts.
In a separate e-mail, Provost Sigler said that Sagatun-Edwards would be sorely missed by her many friends and colleagues
"All of us admired her intelligence, her strength of character and her deep commitment to San Jose State University," Sigler said. "She really embodied excellence and has been, and will continue to be, a source of inspiration to many of her colleagues."
According to Sagatun-Edwards' resume, she received her masters and doctorate in sociology from Stanford University and has more than 50 publications to her name many dealing with domestic violence and child abuse.
She was awarded the Joseph Lohman Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Western Society of Criminology in 1997. In 2004 she was presented with the CASA Faculty Scholar award and was honored with the SJSU Presidential Scholar Award in 2005.
"She was a very dynamic and committed person who accomplished a great deal in two years as dean," said Barbara J. Conry, interim dean of the College of Applied Arts and Sciences.
"She was a visionary and she had a sense of spirit and enthusiasm that motivated people to go to the next level," Conry said. "She always encouraged people to go to the next level because she knew the heartbeat of this university is the student."
Bill Briggs, director of the school of journalism and mass communications said that he and Sagatun-Edwards started at SJSU at about the same time and had known her just as another faculty member for the better part of 20 years.
"She had become dean a year-and-a-half ago at the same time I took over as director of the school of journalism," Briggs said. "We both kind of learned our new jobs together."
Briggs remembered the reaction of the faculty when Sagatun-Edwards announced her diagnosis.
"We were all just kind of struck dumb and felt instantly bad that someone at their prime of their career, at the top of their game, all of a sudden being struck down."
Briggs echoed the feelings of Conry adding that Sagatun-Edwards had a vision for where the college should go and move into the future.
Her husband said he hopes the vision that Inger carried with her of building better bridges between the university and the community of San Jose, will be brought to fruition by her colleagues and fellow leaders at SJSU.
SJSU President Don Kassing said Sagatun-Edwards would be remembered as a very dedicated person.
"It's a very tragic loss for our campus," Kassing said. "She was just so engaged and she thoroughly enjoyed being a dean."
A memorial service will be held for Dean Inger Sagatun-Edwards on Monday, April 9 at 4 p.m. at the Stanford Memorial Church.
REMEMBERING DEAN INGER SAGTUN-EDWARDS
"She left a sense of commitment to higher education that won't be forgotten. She was one of those individuals who had a great balance of scholarship, teaching and service."
- Barbara J. Conry, acting dean, College of Applied Arts and Sciences
"She really was what a professor was supposed to be. She was a fine teacher, she was a great scholar and she was ambitious at going above and beyond the regular day to day duties."
- Bill Briggs, director of Journalism and Mass Communications
"On a personal level I know that she had a very, very loving relationship with her husband, that I know for sure. They were not shy to show their affection for one another."
- Christina Tan-Aoyagi, assistant to the College of Applied Arts and Sciences dean's office
"The memorial on Monday will be a tribute to her, but I think that it is going to continue beyond that. I think there will be many tributes to her because I think that she made a difference in many peoples lives."
-Leonard Edwards, husband
More memories about Dean Sagatun-Edwards can be left in the comment field below.
Her family has set up a fund in her honor at San Jose State University. Contributions can be made out to "Tower Foundation of SJSU" and sent to:
The Dean Inger Sagatun-Edwards Faculty Development Memorial Fund
c/o Laura Henderson, director of development
Office of Development and Alumni Rrelations
San Jose State University
San Jose, Calif. 95192-0257
Contributions can also be made online at www.sjsu.edu/giving. Click on "give to SJSU online" and type in the name of the fund.
Sagatun-Edwards died Monday morning succumbing to what Inghram called a very aggressive and rapid cancer.
"She was an incredible lady with an incredible amount of strength, she gave a remarkable presentation, making everyone feel at ease," Inghram said.
Inghram recalled Sagatun-Edwards' passion for her profession and as a person, who enjoyed laughing, was caring and selfless.
"Inger had an incredible sense of humor in any situation, Inghram said. "She loved being dean and we loved having her as our dean. She was an advocate for the faculty, staff and students of this college."
Retired Santa Clara County Judge Leonard Edwards, Inger's husband of 36 years said he is appreciative yet overwhelmed at all of the love that has been coming in via telephone calls and e-mails.
"I have never seen such an outpouring of love, respect and concern, Edwards said.
He said with a slight chuckle that it is a task managing all of the flowers and packages that he has received.
Edwards reminisced about his "marriage made in heaven."
"This is a great personal loss to our family," Edwards said. "We were in love with each other and lived together in a very happy marriage."
According to a campus-wide e-mail sent out by San Jose State University Provost Carmen Sigler, Sagatun-Edwards began her career at SJSU as a justice studies faculty member in 1975. She served for 12 years as the chairperson of the department of justice studies, and in 2005 took the helm as the dean of the College of Applied Sciences and Arts.
In a separate e-mail, Provost Sigler said that Sagatun-Edwards would be sorely missed by her many friends and colleagues
"All of us admired her intelligence, her strength of character and her deep commitment to San Jose State University," Sigler said. "She really embodied excellence and has been, and will continue to be, a source of inspiration to many of her colleagues."
According to Sagatun-Edwards' resume, she received her masters and doctorate in sociology from Stanford University and has more than 50 publications to her name many dealing with domestic violence and child abuse.
She was awarded the Joseph Lohman Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Western Society of Criminology in 1997. In 2004 she was presented with the CASA Faculty Scholar award and was honored with the SJSU Presidential Scholar Award in 2005.
"She was a very dynamic and committed person who accomplished a great deal in two years as dean," said Barbara J. Conry, interim dean of the College of Applied Arts and Sciences.
"She was a visionary and she had a sense of spirit and enthusiasm that motivated people to go to the next level," Conry said. "She always encouraged people to go to the next level because she knew the heartbeat of this university is the student."
Bill Briggs, director of the school of journalism and mass communications said that he and Sagatun-Edwards started at SJSU at about the same time and had known her just as another faculty member for the better part of 20 years.
"She had become dean a year-and-a-half ago at the same time I took over as director of the school of journalism," Briggs said. "We both kind of learned our new jobs together."
Briggs remembered the reaction of the faculty when Sagatun-Edwards announced her diagnosis.
"We were all just kind of struck dumb and felt instantly bad that someone at their prime of their career, at the top of their game, all of a sudden being struck down."
Briggs echoed the feelings of Conry adding that Sagatun-Edwards had a vision for where the college should go and move into the future.
Her husband said he hopes the vision that Inger carried with her of building better bridges between the university and the community of San Jose, will be brought to fruition by her colleagues and fellow leaders at SJSU.
SJSU President Don Kassing said Sagatun-Edwards would be remembered as a very dedicated person.
"It's a very tragic loss for our campus," Kassing said. "She was just so engaged and she thoroughly enjoyed being a dean."
A memorial service will be held for Dean Inger Sagatun-Edwards on Monday, April 9 at 4 p.m. at the Stanford Memorial Church.
REMEMBERING DEAN INGER SAGTUN-EDWARDS
"She left a sense of commitment to higher education that won't be forgotten. She was one of those individuals who had a great balance of scholarship, teaching and service."
- Barbara J. Conry, acting dean, College of Applied Arts and Sciences
"She really was what a professor was supposed to be. She was a fine teacher, she was a great scholar and she was ambitious at going above and beyond the regular day to day duties."
- Bill Briggs, director of Journalism and Mass Communications
"On a personal level I know that she had a very, very loving relationship with her husband, that I know for sure. They were not shy to show their affection for one another."
- Christina Tan-Aoyagi, assistant to the College of Applied Arts and Sciences dean's office
"The memorial on Monday will be a tribute to her, but I think that it is going to continue beyond that. I think there will be many tributes to her because I think that she made a difference in many peoples lives."
-Leonard Edwards, husband
More memories about Dean Sagatun-Edwards can be left in the comment field below.
Her family has set up a fund in her honor at San Jose State University. Contributions can be made out to "Tower Foundation of SJSU" and sent to:
The Dean Inger Sagatun-Edwards Faculty Development Memorial Fund
c/o Laura Henderson, director of development
Office of Development and Alumni Rrelations
San Jose State University
San Jose, Calif. 95192-0257
Contributions can also be made online at www.sjsu.edu/giving. Click on "give to SJSU online" and type in the name of the fund.
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