Duke Flags Lowered: Sociologist Ed Tiryakian, Taught at Duke for 54 Years, Dies

Ed Tiryakian at an academic conference in Yerevan, Armenia.

Tiryakian鈥檚 60-year academic career had unparalleled contributions in multiple areas including Emile Durkheim and his works; existentialism; apartheid; religion; modernity; and nationalism. He served as chair of Duke鈥檚 sociology and anthropology department, and as director of Duke鈥檚 Center for International Studies where he worked tirelessly with his wife to strengthen Duke鈥檚 international presence.

He went on to serve as president of the International Society of French Speaking Sociologists and of the American Sociological Association History of Sociology section. He received honorary doctorates from the Sorbonne, as well as Universite Paris Descartes.

One of his most cherished Duke moments was his part in helping to resolve the student takeover of Allen Building in February 1969. It was a labor of love helping the students he cared deeply about having their concerns be heard by the university in support of its mission to educate and to arrive at a peaceful resolution in very unsettling times. Decades later, Tiryakian taught a popular class on the year 1968 about the vast social changes happening globally in that period.

Colleagues and students described him as a deeply thoughtful and caring person and the living definition of a sociologist. He loved meeting people, exploring different cultures, and writing about the diverse societies that were part of his world. He was cherished by his family, colleagues, his beloved university and academics around the world, as well as thousands of students whose lives he touched in deeply meaningful ways.

He is survived by his wife of 72 years, Josefina Cintron Tiryakian and his 2 sons, Edmund Tiryakian and his wife Jacqueline and Edwyn Tiryakian and his wife Karen.

Tiryakian believed that his finest accomplishment was his unwavering faith in both God and humanity and the world we live in.