Gerhard Rosegger

Gerhard "Jerry" Rosegger, Ph.D., passed away on December 21st, 2008 at the age of 78. He was born on July 28th, 1930 in Bruck/Mur, Austria. He was married to Clare Louise Tretter in 1954, and became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1961. Together, the Roseggers had four loving children: Karin R. Petrosky Larry, Michael Rosegger Wendy, Nora Workman Mark and Tom Rosegger. Gerhard Rosegger was a grandfather to nine, and the brother of Krista Pommer Wolfgang, Karin Stock Robert, and Ingrid Fuhrlinger Dieter. Gerhard Rosegger, holder of the Frank Tracy Carlton Professor of Economics Chair at the time of his retirement in 1996, was an accomplished scholar and fluent and versatile writer. He received his advanced education in Austria, as well as from Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania MBA. Throughout a lifetime of contributions in all three of the traditional categories of teaching, scholarship and service, Professor Rosegger has taught at all levels, from introductory courses to Ph.D. dissertations. This includes a total of 35 years of dedicated and meritorious service to Case Western Reserve University. He has been successful in teaching economics to diverse audiences, including traditional undergraduates, aspiring economists, executives and engineers moving into management. After developing a special course to teach the "Economics of Industrial Production and Technological Change" to engineering students, Professor Rosegger wrote a textbook that is internationally recognized. He has taught the Economics of Technological Change in numerous places, including Austria, Germany, Finland and New Zealand. Professor Rosegger's professional research and publications have provided insightful analyses of a wide range of times, places and industries. He is perhaps best known for his work on the steel and automobile industries of the U.S. and Europe. He has also written on the construction of railways in Transylvania during the 19th century, the qualifying times for the Indianapolis 500, Schmoller's Grundriss, interfirm cooperative agreements, and information technology, among other topics. Professor Rosegger, the consummate "Professor with a pipe", also enjoyed traveling the world and experiencing the great outdoors. He was an avid fisherman, golfer and was even a competitive slalom skier. In the last year of his life, he had traveled from Nice to Paris, France with his wife. Professor Rosegger was also a car "Rallyist" in the 60's and 70's with the MG Car Club. The family prefers that those who wish may make contributions in his name to Heights Christian Church, 17300 Van Aken Blvd., Shaker Hts., OH 44120, where Memorial Services will be held Friday, December 26 at 11:00 AM.


PDF Printable Version