Obituaries: Ernst Haas, Sheldon Messinger

02 April 2003

Sheldon Messinger, left, and Ernst Haas

Ernst Haas
Ernst Bernard Haas, Robson Professor of Government Emeritus in the political science department, died March 6 after a short illness at the age of 78.

A prominent scholar in the fields of international relations and international organizations, Haas joined the Berkeley faculty in 1951. Following his retirement in June 1999, he continued in an active role as a researcher and teacher on campus.

Haas was born in Frankfurt, Germany, in 1924, and emigrated to the United States with his family in 1938. He received his Ph.D. in public law and government in 1952 from Columbia University, where he had also received his B.S. and M.A.. He began his academic career in 1951 at Berkeley, where he remained until his death. In addition, he was director of the UC Berkeley Institute for International Studies from 1969 to 1973.

A leading authority on international-relations theory, Haas was concerned with the concepts and process of international integration. He published 20 books and monographs, as well as 56 articles and book chapters. His early groundbreaking works, The Uniting of Europe (1958, re-issued 2003) and Beyond the Nation-State (1964), are still widely cited and read. The former was named by the Journal of Foreign Affairs as one of the 50 most significant books in international relations in the last century. His recent work included a two-volume, comparative historical study of nationalism, Nationalism, Liberalism, and Progress (1997 and 2000).

Haas was married to the late Hildegarde Vogel Haas for 57 years. He is survived by his son, Peter M. Haas, a professor of political science at the University of Massachusetts– Amherst; his daughter-in-law, Julie Zuckman; his sister, Edith Cornfield of New York City; and a grandson.
— Carol Hyman

Sheldon Messinger
Sheldon L. Messinger, a distinguished scholar in the fields of criminology and sociology and professor emeritus in the School of Law (Boalt Hall), died in Berkeley on Thursday, March 6, of complications related to lymphoma. He was 77 years old.

Messinger was born in 1925 in Chicago. A veteran of World War II, he earned his Ph.B. at the University of Chicago in 1947 and his B.A., with highest honors, from UCLA in 1951. He received his Ph.D. in sociology from UCLA in 1969.

Messinger, who served as vice chairman for the Center for the Study of Law and Society at Berkeley from 1961 to 1970, became a professor at (as well as acting dean of) Berkeley’s School of Criminology in 1970. He was appointed dean of the school, which no longer exists, in July 1971 and served until June 1975. He became the Elizabeth Josselyn Boalt Professor of Law in 1977 as part of the law school’s newly formed Jurisprudence and Social Policy (JSP) Program. He served on the JSP faculty for 14 years, focusing primarily on deviance and social control.

Following his retirement, Messinger remained active in university matters, serving as the founding chair of the policy board for the UC Berkeley Retirement Center, chair of the UC systemwide emeriti association, chair of the Academic Senate Committee on University-Emeriti Relations, and as one of the principal architects of the Health Care Facilitator Program — a service that helps UC health-care-plan members understand benefits and patient rights as well as resolve coverage and access problems.

Messinger was married for 53 years to Mildred Handler, who passed away in August 2000. He is survived by his sons, Adam of Berkeley and Eli of Oakland. He also is survived by his brother, Jay, of Chicago. The family will hold a private memorial service. The campus is also planning a memorial service.
— Erin Campbell