Professor Emeritus John (Jack) Menge, a beloved professor of economics and the longest-serving professor at Dartmouth upon his retirement in 1999, died last week at the age of 75.
Professor Menge earned his Ph.D. in Economics in 1959 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He came to the Dartmouth economics department in 1956, after spending two years as a financial analyst with the Ford Motor Co. He also served as a visiting professor at the University of Warwick in 1998.
Professor Menge served as Chair of the Economics Department at Dartmouth, as well as the chair of numerous College committees, including serving as a member of the Budget Advisory Committee and as an ex-officio member of the Trustees Finance Committee.
An active member of the local community, Professor Menge served on several boards in Lyme and Hanover. As vice-president of the Hanover Food Co-op, he was the person most responsible for moving the Food Co-op from the old Main Street location to its current location on Lebanon Street, at a time when nobody believed that the Co-op would survive if it were not on Main Street.
Fondly remembered by colleagues as a great storyteller and a good practical joker, Menge was also well known for his antics behind the wheel of his Land Cruiser, or as one friend remembered, "he was famous for his terrible driving!"
While colleagues and friends remember him as "quite a character," professor Menge was also widely published, writing for several professional journals focused on aspects of the U.S. automobile industry. He was also involved as a member of an MIT research team examining the international automobile industry. That project resulted in the acclaimed book "The Future of the Automobile" which was listed as one of the year's 10 best books on business by Business Week.
Professor Menge lived on a 220-acre farm about six miles from the college. He was buried there yesterday with a Dartmouth hat. "His blood ran green," friend and colleague, Professor David Blanchflower said. "He really loved the College."
