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May 31, 2012

Obituary: John McClay Close

closePitt alumnus and long-time faculty member in the School of Dental Medicine John McClay Close died May 23, 2012. He was 69.

Friends and colleagues remembered Close as a friendly, optimistic individual dedicated to helping students navigate statistics and research design, which were his specialties.

A native of Phillipsburg, Pa., Close earned a BS in behavioral science with a psychology concentration in 1972, followed by an MA and a post-master’s specialist diploma in educational research methodology in 1977, all at Pitt.

He was a graduate research assistant and educational research intern at the School of Dental Medicine from 1974 to 1978, when he was named a research associate in the school’s Division of Learning Resources. Close served as the dental school’s data management liaison to UPMC, 1988-92, and was named an assistant professor in 1992. In 1996, he was the school’s faculty affiliate of the dental informatics program at UPMC’s Center for Biomedical Informatics.

In 2000, Close became the responsibility center account administrator for the dental school.

He was named an associate professor in the Department of Dental Public Health/Information Management in 2010.

Close also was an adjunct assistant professor of health services administration at the College of St. Francis in Joliet, Ill., 1988-2005. More recently, he was the biostatistical reviewer for The Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Journal, beginning in 2007.

At Pitt, Close taught a number of courses on statistics, research design methods, research analysis, scientific writing, scientific literature review methods and research methodology, and program evaluation.

He had a long history of service on University Senate committees, especially the computer usage committee (CUC), of which he was a member 1997-present and which he chaired, 2003-07. In 2000 he served as CUC’s representative on the Senate library issues plenary session working group, and he chaired CUC’s subcommittee on non-Windows platform support, as well as its working group on disposition of deceased faculty network authorization accounts, 2000-01. He was a member of the Senate elections committee, 2008-09, and the educational policies committee, 2009.

His University-wide service included ex officio membership on the Provost’s Council on Academic Computing and the University information technology steering committee, 2003-07.

For many years Close administered standardized tests at the dental school, including the Dental Assisting National Board Examination, the Dental and Dental Hygiene National Board Examination, the Dental Admissions Test and the Pennsylvania Dental Assisting Radiation Safety Examination. He was a member of several school committees and working groups.

Before enrolling at Pitt as an undergraduate, Close served two tours of duty in the U.S. Army 11th Armored Calvary Regiment (Blackhorse Regiment) as a scout observer and personnel specialist during the Vietnam War, 1966-69.

Robert Weyant, chair of the Department of Dental Public Health/Information Management, said Close’s military service was an important part of his life.

“John recalled with me many stories, often funny ones, of his time in the service, including the time the snake fell out of the tree into the armored personnel carrier and everyone jumped out — apparently more willing to face enemy fire than a snake in the tank,” Weyant said. “He also talked about how his father’s insistence on him learning typing in high school resulted in him being appointed as the company clerk.”

Close and Weyant worked in the same department for more than 20 years. “During that time, I got to know John quite well and was always impressed by his unfailingly cheerful demeanor. John always took things in stride,” Weyant said. “He was regarded by all of the students as a friendly, warm and kind faculty member who always looked out for students’ well being.”

Close also played a key role in the development of the School of Dental Medicine’s research program in the 1990s. “When there was a greater emphasis placed on graduate student research, John became the ‘go to’ guy for many students trying to figure out statistics and research design,” Weyant said. “John’s willingness to spend literally hours with residents, helping them to design studies and to make sense of statistical analyses, made the difference in many cases with students completing their theses in a timely and appropriate manner.”

Close’s development and teaching of the statistics and research writing classes became an important part of the core curriculum for the school’s graduate resident students, Weyant added.

“He also clearly valued his family above all else and he frequently talked of his daughters, who along with [his wife] Donna — and a number of cats — were the joy of his life,” Weyant said.

“John was someone who was always in a good mood, always willing to help out, especially with student projects, and always able to offer some insight or advice when it came to research methods and understanding statistics. He will be missed by everyone here at the school.”

Long-time colleague John Baker said, “I have many fond memories of John Close, as do most of my colleagues in the School of Dental Medicine and the University Senate. John was a fine individual and one of the most solid citizens I have known. He willingly accepted assignments, volunteered to do extra work, solicited and took advice, always did a thorough job and was a wonderful person to work with.”

Baker, who is a past president of the University Senate, noted Close’s dedication to Senate service, including many years on Faculty Assembly and Senate Council. “John was an active participant in Senate meetings and rarely missed one. He will be sorely missed in the Senate,” Baker said.

“John Close was a good father and husband, well-liked and a nice conscientious human being; humans don’t come any better,” he added.

Over his long career, Close was a member of several professional associations, including the National Council on Measurement in Education, the American Educational Research Association, the American Association of Dental Schools, the American Psychological Association (Division 5), the Pittsburgh Dental Research Association and the American Dental Education Association.

Close is survived by his wife of 40 years, Donna S. Close, a Pitt staff member in the Division of Student Affairs; his children, Heather, Ashley and Christa Close and Terry Shea; his grandchildren, Miranda and Fionna Shea; his sisters, Ellen Greenawalt and Georgia Shomo, and nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to the University of Pittsburgh, with Simmons Center ILD written in the memo line, c/o UPMC Montefiore, NW 628, 3459 Fifth Ave., Pittsburgh 15213.

—Peter Hart


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