Robert Shenton

A longtime Harvard administrator, Robert Shenton died Feb. 29 of injuries from a fall he suffered while on vacation in San Juan, Puerto Rico. He was 75.

Affiliated with the University for almost five decades, Shenton held positions at the College and on the Corporation and the Board of Overseers.

He directed searches for the two most recent University presidents--in 1991, when President Neil L. Rudenstine was selected, and two decades earlier, when former President Derek C. Bok was chosen.

Two years ago, the Harvard Alumni Association awarded Shenton a Harvard Medal for his service to the University.

Adam B. Ulam

Gurney Professor of History and Political Science emeritus Adam B. Ulam, a world-renowned expert on the history of the Soviet Union, died of lung cancer March 28 in Cambridge. He was 77.

Ulam served as director of Harvard's Russian Research Center from 1973 to 1976 and from 1980 to 1992. A prolific writer, his works included The Bolsheviks and Stalin: The Man and His Era, considered by academics to be among the most important profiles of Lenin and Stalin, respectively.

After graduating from Brown, Ulam received a Ph.D. in government from Harvard in 1947 and taught until his retirement in 1992.

Before his death, Ulam wrote an autobiography that will be published this year.

Raymond Vernon

Clarence Dillon Professor of International Affairs emeritus at the Kennedy School of Government (KSG) and renowned multinational business scholar Raymond Vernon died on Aug. 26 due to complications from cancer. He was 85.

Over the course of two decades, Vernon had a remarkable career in public service. He worked for the Securities and Exchange Commission and State Department and played a role in the creation of the M&M chocolate candy during a two-year stint in private enterprise.

After Vernon came to Harvard in 1956, he held numerous posts at HBS and KSG.

"Ray Vernon possessed a wide-ranging knowledge of international trade and the economics of developing nations that contributed greatly to the expansion of Harvard's global focus in the postwar era," wrote Harvard President Neil L. Rudenstine in a statement. "We are grateful for the part he played in the life of Harvard, the nation and the world."