Edward T. "Ted" Kirkpatrick

EDWARD T. "TED" KIRKPATRICK, Ph.D.
WESTON, MA - Edward T. "Ted" Kirkpatrick, Ph.D., a resident of Weston, Massachusetts, died Sunday, November 25th, 2007, at the Wayside Hospice in Wayland after a year long battle with renal cancer. He was born in Cranbrook, British Columbia, Canada on January 15, 1925, the son of Thomson and Pauline Kirkpatrick of Mission, British Columbia.
After graduating from the University of British Columbia with a Bachelor's Degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1947, Dr. Kirkpatrick worked in industry for seven years, then attended Carnegie Mellon University where he received his Masters and Doctorate Degrees in Mechanical Engineering. In 1958 he began teaching at the University of Pittsburgh, and then went to the University of Toledo as the Mechanical Engineering Department Head. In 1964 he joined the Rochester Institute of Technology as Dean of Engineering and helped them move their campus from an urban to country setting.
In 1971 he joined Wentworth Institute of Technology as President. During his nineteen year presidency he transformed the Institute while preserving the hands-on style of engineering education known as the "Wentworth Way." In 1972 he opened the doors to women students and faculty, in 1975 he ushered in a Cooperative Education program and in 1977 he merged Wentworth Institute with Wentworth College creating "two plus two" as the educational model that characterized the last quarter of the 20th century at this school. During this time, the enrollment and the size of the campus doubled, and the endowment tripled.
He embraced many foreign educational programs to sow the Wentworth way in overseas soil. During the 1970's, institutions in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Algeria, Iran, China, Egypt and Kenya would all benefit from the influence of Wentworth and Kirkpatrick.
In 1989 he received the American Society of Engineering Education Society's James H. McGraw Award, the foremost national honor for engineering technology educators. The award citation noted that he was considered "the leading engineering technology educator in the United States."
His love for aviation started in Rochester, New York, where he earned his pilot's license and later his instrument and seaplane ratings and led to his hobby of building full size airplanes in his garage. His wife, Barbara, also earned her pilot's license and they flew together to Oshkosh, Wisconsin, many times for the EAA annual fly-in and to British Columbia in 1975. After retiring in 1990, he enrolled at East Coast Aero Technical School and earned his federal license as an aircraft mechanic. During his retirement, he also enjoyed traveling, building, vegetable gardening, chopping firewood, and spending time in Maine.
He is survived by his wife of 59 years, Barbara and their four children, Allan Kirkpatrick and his wife, Susan of Fort Collins, Colorado; Karen Kirkpatrick and her husband, Stephen Wyman of Acton, MA; Ann Tucker and her husband, Scott of Ithaca, New York; Keith Kirkpatrick and his wife, Corky Binggeli of Arlington, MA; his two sisters, Mary Turland of Vancouver, B.C., and Sybil Grissom of Portland, Oregon; and seven grandchildren.
A celebration of his life will be held Saturday, December 1, 2007, at 1:00 p.m. in St. Peter's Episcopal Church, 320 Boston Post Road, Weston, Massachusetts .
Gifts in his memory may be made to the Edward and Barbara Kirkpatrick Scholarship Fund at Wentworth Institute of Technology, 550 Huntington Ave., Boston, MA 02115-5998.
Arrangements are under the care of MacRae-Tunnicliffe's Concord Funeral Home, Concord, MA. For online guest book visit: www.concordfuneral.com