Transition

Carl EicherĀ  Dies Peacefully surrounded by a loving family

Dear Family and Friends:

It is with a broken heart and copious tears that I write to tell you that Professor Carl Eicher died on Saturday, July 5th of Parkinson's Disease.

Carl's death was preceded by a glorious week of good health and good spirits. We spent Tuesday in the company of his daughters, grandchildren and former wife at their beloved Lake Michigan cottage. Thursday, he had an excellent exam with Dr. Michael Zaroukian and on Friday, we celebrated a splendid 4th of July with a former student and his family, Dr. Kifle and Hagossa Negash and their son, Dr. Ariya Negash, at their home in E.L. Typical of Carl, even after the Negash feast, he came home wanting a dish of vanilla ice cream and was joined by one of his four round-the-clock aides, Fassil (Mickey) Assefa.

Carl did not want a funeral. Instead, you are invited to our home on Sunday, July 27th at 2:00 p.m. to join his family in celebrating Carl's lifelong commitment to African development.

Please grace us with a note about your ties to Carl for our family to treasure.

Lovingly,

Shirley Eicher

Address:
426 Walbridge Drive
East Lansing, MI 48823
RSVP:
Email Pat Eisele (eiselep@msu.edu) or
Call Lisa VandenBerg at 517-749-8697

Summary Biography
Carl K. Eicher was Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Department of Agricultural, Food and Resource Economics at Michigan State University.  Carl Eicher’s career was devoted to training students, building institutions and helping develop applied agricultural research capacity throughout Sub-Saharan Africa.  He served as Visiting Professor at the University of Nigeria (1963-66), Stanford University (1968) and the University of Zimbabwe (1983-87).

In 1963, he helped establish the Economic Development Institute at the University of Nigeria and subsequently served as the Director of the Institute from 1964 to 1966.  He received the Foreign Francqui Prize, University of Leuven, Belgium in 1986 and he was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Science Degree by the University of Zimbabwe in 1998.  

After retirement, his dedication to African development continued through his work with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, the World Bank, the Kellogg Foundation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and African organizations such the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). While at MSU, Prof. Eicher helped publish many books and reports on Africa agriculture and economic development, especially on policy and human and institutional capacity building. He also taught and mentored hundreds of African students, researchers and faculty members, many of who are now prominent leaders in their countries and around the world.