Franklin L. Ford, a former dean of the Faculty who spent nearly 40 years as a prominent member of the history department, died on Aug. 31 at a retirement home in Lexington, Mass., following complications from a stroke. He was 82.

During his tenure as dean, from 1962 to 1970, Ford navigated Harvard through tumultuous times, including the student takeover of University Hall, with his signature composure and tact.

His composure served him well when, in 1969, campus tensions reached a boiling point and student protesters took over University Hall. The last dean to leave the building during the student siege, Ford sat in his office and said: “I am prepared to remain in the building for as long as you like, to discuss things.”

Though he tended to stay out of the political fray on campus, Ford spoke out against the Vietnam war in a Commencement speech in 1967, and was one of several top American educators to pay a visit to President Johnson that year to express concern for the repercussions of the war on foreign policy, the nation and higher education.

As a professor, Ford was known for his understated style and generosity, as a mentor to many students and as a model to his colleagues. His office hours in Widener Library had a waiting list.

Friends and colleagues said Ford will be remembered as a tempering figure during contentious times at the University.

“He did what the great professors do—he was a great scholar and teacher. He was there all the time as a resource of advice and encouragement,” said Dean of the Faculty William C. Kirby, a history professor who earned his Ph.D. under Ford’s guidance.

Ford first joined the Harvard faculty in 1953 as an assistant history professor specializing in 17th-century France and modern Germany, although he quickly gained a reputation as a European historian with a broad area of expertise.

ARTHUR A. MAASS

Arthur A. Maass, a longtime Harvard government professor known for his work on the nation’s water policy, died March 26. He was 86.

Maass, the Thomson professor of government emeritus, served on the Harvard faculty for 36 years, from 1948 to 1984.

“He was the ideal academic on practical life of politics,” said Samuel Beer, the Eaton professor of the science of government emeritus. “He had the right balance and right mind.”

Maass’ first book, Muddy Waters: The Army Engineers and the Nation’s Rivers, was published in 1951 and criticized the Army Corps of Engineers for shortcomings in its management of water resources, flood control and navigation procedures and for its relationships with special interests.

Maass was also an innovator. Following the publication of Muddy Waters, he served for 10 years as director of the Harvard Water Program, which created quantitative methods for designing and planning water resource systems.

Maass served as chair of the government department from 1963 to 1967, and Beer hailed him as an exemplary leader and mediator within the department.