Richard Albert Myren

1924 - 2012
Richard A. Myren, of 2960 Lakeshore Drive, Chicago, passed away Thursday, September 20, 2012 from pneumonia. He was 88. He is survived by his wife, Patricia Ross Hubin Myren, 4 children: Nina Schroepfer (Bakersfield, CA), Tania Zobel (Wawarsing, NY), Kristina Sheldon (Newport, OR) and Andrew J. Myren (Chicago, IL); 8 grandchildren: Katrina Schroepfer, Rebecca Wingate, Kara Walker, Tyler Sparks, Kaziah Zobel, Katie Sheldon, Ross Myren and Natalie Myren and two great-grandchildren: Nolan and Max Wingate.

He was born August 9, 1924, in Madison, Wisconsin, son of Andrew and Anna Myren. He married Patricia Hubin June 12, 1948. He was a graduate of the University of Wisconsin (B.S. Chemistry, 1948) and Harvard Law School (LL.B.(J.D.), 1952, with an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws, University of New Haven, 1976. He was admitted to the North Carolina Bar in 1953. He was recognized nationally and internationally as a pioneering leader in the field of Criminal Justice education. Cited by the American Association of Public Administration for educational leadership, he was also granted the Distinguished Service Award for Academic Leadership by the State University of New York, Albany, School of Criminal Justice and was presented the Academic Fellow Award for Distinguished Teaching and Scholarly Achievement by the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences.

He began his career at the Institute of Government, University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill) as Assistant Director and Assistant Research Professor in Criminal Law. From there he moved on to Associate Professor of Police Administration at Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana and Staff Member of the Center for Police Training. He became the founding Dean of the first Graduate School of Criminal Justice in the United States at the State University of New York at Albany. Next he became Dean of the School of Justice at American University in Washington, D. C. in 1976, from which he retired as Professor Emeritus in 1986. He also held positions as Visiting Professor in Cambridge University's Institute of Criminology and as Director of the Institute on Juvenile Justice in England and America at Newnham College, Cambridge University. He served as consultant on law enforcement programs for children and youth in the Children's Bureau (United States Department of Health, Education and Welfare) where he co-authored "Police Work with Children and Youth.", Special Advisor to President Kennedy's Committee on Juvenile Delinquency and Youth Crime and consultant to the United States Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration, the International Association of Chiefs of Police Juvenile Delinquency Project, and various state higher education departments on Criminal Justice programs. He was a Fulbright Scholar in Cordoba, Argentina, and a Visiting Professor of Constitutional and Criminal Law at the East China Institute of Politics and Law in Shanghai, People's Republic of China.

He served in the United States Infantry in Europe during World War II, 1943-1946, and in the United States Naval Reserve, 1954-1968.