Emerson Mourns the Loss of Norman Stearns

In an email to the Emerson community, President Jacqueline Liebergott shared the sad news that Dr. Norman Stearns, a dedicated and generous friend of the College, had passed away on September 28. Norman was the husband of Irma Mann Stearns, a former Emerson Board Chair and Trustee Emerita.

In 1989, Norman and Irma established the Mann Stearns Distinguished Faculty Award at Emerson, which provides a cash grant annually to a full-time faculty member to support a scholarly or creative endeavor in which travel is encouraged.

Norman, who was 86 years old, was instrumental in establishing the Health Communication Program at Emerson, which is offered jointly with the Tufts School of Medicine. He was a long-time faculty member and administrator at the Tufts School of Medicine.

Emerson extends its heartfelt condolences to Irma; their sons, Dr. Alan Stearns and his wife Rosemary of New York, and Frank Stearns and his wife Susan Evans of Newton; Norman’s stepchildren, Elizabeth Mann and Matthew Miles of New York; and Robert Mann and Gwen Mann of Bedford, Massachusetts, and to the entire family.