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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
HONORING THE LIFE OF FRANKLIN R. SAFFORD
WHEREAS, Franklin R. Safford, 87, known to family, friends, and colleagues as Pancho, served as Chair of the Northwestern History Department from 1986-89 and again from 1992-94. He was also the Associate Dean for the Social Sciences from 1994-98 and 2001-2002 and Director of International Studies from 2002-06. He died June 16, 2022 in Evanston, Illinois; and
WHEREAS, Pancho married his beloved wife, Joan Bainbridge, in 1959. They raised their two sons, Mark and Joshua, in Evanston, where they found a caring, engaged group of friends and neighbors that they were involved with on many issues that improved the life of all; and
WHEREAS, Pancho avidly supported his performing artist children and shared responsibility raising them when his wife's legal career with the United States Department of Justice blossomed; and
WHEREAS, he was a partner to his wife and children as well as to his students and colleagues in encouraging their growth and success in any endeavor; and
WHEREAS, his leadership at Northwestern and his community participation in Evanston has led to many people being inspired to give back to the Cook County community their talents to enhance our society; and
WHEREAS, "While Pancho loved research and scholarship, and was highly respected in his field" his wife Joan said, "his joy was in empowering and mentoring his students and young colleagues. They became emboldened by his enthusiasm, supportive criticism and humor." The esteem of his colleagues was acknowledged when he was selected to serve the History Department and University in multiple capacities; and
WHEREAS, Pancho was born in El Paso, Texas, June 4, 1935 and graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Harvard College in 1957. He received his MA (1958) and PhD (1963) from Columbia University; and
WHEREAS, after two years of doctoral research in Colombia, in 1962, he joined the faculty of Dartmouth College as an Instructor and Assistant Professor of Latin American and American history. In 1966, he accepted an appointment at Northwestern University as an Assistant Professor of History, became an Associate Professor in 1972 and Professor in 1976; and
WHEREAS, he was named the inaugural Gerald and Marjorie Fitzgerald Professor of Economic History in 1995. At his retirement in 2010, he became Professor Emeritus. After his retirement, in 2011, he taught as Professor in the School of Management at the Universidad de los Andes in Bogotá, Colombia; and
WHEREAS, Pancho also taught as a Visiting Associate Professor in 1972-73 at the University of Texas at Austin where he served as editor of the Hispanic American Historical Review. In 1995, the Republic of Colombia named him to the Orden de San Carlos for his seminal works in Colombian economic history. In 2011, the National University of Colombia in Bogotá awarded him an Honorary Doctorate in Engineering for his pioneering study of technical education in Colombia; and
WHEREAS, his many books and articles in English and Spanish included The Ideal of the Practical: Colombia's Struggle to Form a Technical Elite, Austin (University of Texas Press, 1976), published in Spanish (El Ancora Editores, Universidad Nacional, 1989), and Colombia: Fragmented Land, Divided Society (with Marco Palacios), Oxford University Press, 2002; published in Spanish (Editorial Norma, 2002).
WHEREAS, Pancho and his wife enjoyed many adventures all over the world with extensive travel in Latin America and residence Bogotá, where he was doing research and teaching. He was an active man, preferring to ride his bicycle everywhere and playing tennis into his early 80's with a company of friends referred to, affectionately, as the geriatric tennis league; and
WHEREAS, Pancho was a fierce but scrupulously fair competitor in his tennis league. He had a legendary spinning trick shot which was feared and treasured depending on who was fortunate enough to have him for a partner. Those who had the honor of playing with him were improved not just in skill but by having known and learned from him in tennis and in world affairs which were discussed on a regular basis on the court and at end of season celebrations. His wit and kindness on the court will be deeply missed by every one of his tennis friends.; and
WHEREAS, survivors in addition to his wife include his two sons, Mark and Joshua, their partners Krista Pearson and Rebecca O'Keefe, granddaughter, Meera Pearson Safford, his brother Richard Gillett and his wife Anne as well as numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins who dearly loved Pancho.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Board of Commissioners of Cook County, on behalf of the 5.2 million residents of Cook County, honors the life and work of Franklin R. “Pancho” Safford and herewith expresses its sincere gratitude for the invaluable contributions he made to the Citizens of Cook County, Illinois; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a suitable copy of this Resolution be spread upon the official proceedings of this Honorable Body and that an official copy of same be tendered to the family of Franklin R. “Pancho” Safford.
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