Egon Bittner

Sociology professor emeritus Egon Bittner of Pleasant Hill, Calif., a leading scholar who was best known for his studies of the relationships between police and society, died on May 7. Egon, who hailed from a Jewish community in Czechoslovakia that was devastated during the Holocaust, received a Ph.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles, before joining the Brandeis faculty in the late 1960s. As the Harry Coplan Professor of the Social Sciences, he taught undergraduates, mentored doctoral students and served as chair of the sociology department. His contributions to police scholarship earned him the Police Executive Research Forum Leadership Award, and he headed the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) from 1979–1988. In recognition of his work, CALEA established the Egon Bittner Award, presented annually to leading police executive officers in recognition of distinguished service in law enforcement. Egon served as president of the Society for the Study of Social Problems (SSP). In his presidential address to the SSP in 1984, he reflected on the implications of computers for human futures. Egon retired from Brandeis in 1991. He leaves his wife, Jean; a daughter, Debora; and a son, Tom. 

Caldwell Titcomb

Caldwell Titcomb of Auburndale, Mass., professor emeritus of music and president of the Boston Theater Critics Association, died of leukemia on June 13 at the age of 84. Though ailing, Caldwell attended this year’s Elliot Norton Awards ceremony and presented the Norton Prize for Sustained Excellence to director Scott Edmiston, head of Brandeis’ Office of the Arts. Known for his kind, gentlemanly demeanor, Caldwell wrote for New England Entertainment Digest, the Bay State Banner, theartsfuse.com, Playbill Online and totaltheater.com. Caldwell also authored 50 articles for the two-volume Oxford Encyclopedia of Theatre and Performance. He leaves a sister, Camilla. Gifts in his memory may be sent to Brandeis University’s Office of Development and Alumni Relations, P.O. Box 549110, MS124, Waltham, MA 02445-09110.