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Education assistant professor dies

Written by Andrew Williamson, Contributor to The Shorthorn

Tuesday, 09 October 2007 07:30 PM

Mark Mortensen, education assistant professor and technology director at the university, died Monday morning, apparently of cardiac problems. He was 56.

Mortensen received a bachelor’s degree in communication arts from the University of Wisconsin in 1974, a masters in computer education and cognitive systems from the University of North Texas in 1991, and a doctorate in higher education from North Texas in 1995.

“We will definitely miss his wisdom and his insight,” said Kelsey Downum, research interim vice president.

Mortensen served as a chairperson of the Institutional Review Board, a group that regulates research done with human subjects, Downum said.

Downum said the board is a faculty committee that approves proposed experiments and research involving human subjects. The board deals with the ethics of humans as research subjects and ensures their health and well-being, he said.

Update

Funeral services for late assistant professor announced

In Memoriam
The Mortensen family has asked for any well-wishers to not send flowers but instead donate to a scholarship fund for Mark's son, Matthew.
If you would like to help, make checks payable to "College America FBO: Matthew Mortensen"
Checks may be mailed to "LPL Financial Services, 2904 Corporate Circle, Flower Mound, TX 75028"

“[It’s] probably one of the highest profile university positions that there is on campus,” Downum said.

Downum said he worked with Mortensen on the Institutional Review Board for about a year and remembered Mortensen’s low-key way of addressing things.

“He was a good friend and colleague,” Downum said. “We will miss him.”

According to Mortensen’s faculty profile on the university Web site, he was awarded the 10-Year Service award in 2002, the University Honors Day award for work with at-risk student athletes and the Distributed Learning “Pioneer” in 1999, all at North Texas.

He leaves behind his mother, Donna, son Matthew, and his wife, Donna. In a department email, the family said Mortensen would not want flowers, but that "anyone who chooses to make a remembrance should do so toward a scholarship fund that has been established for Mark’s son," who's a mechanical engineering freshman at Texas Tech.

Nursing assistant professor Patricia Turpin was also a board chairperson at the same time as Mortensen.

She said he was very knowledgeable and pleasant in helping faculty and students work through the research process.

“He was a very intelligent man and an expert in his field,” she said. “He will be sorely missed.”

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Last Updated ( Thursday, 08 November 2007 02:13 PM )

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