IN MEMORIAM: Nohad Abdellatif Toulan and Dirce Angelina Moroni de Toulan ean Emeritus Nohad A. Toulan (born December 1, 1931) of the College of Urban and Public Affairs and Distinguished Professor in the Nohad A. Toulan School of Urban Studies and Planning, and his wife, Dirce Angelina Moroni de Toulan (born December 13, 1934) died together October 28, 2013, in a highway accident in Uruguay while en route to a site where they planned to enjoy a Southern Hemisphere spring and winter holiday. At the well-attended October 17 RAPS meeting Nohad delivered an exceptionally interesting presentation, “Egypt’s Revolution: A Setback or a Failure.” His recorded remarks are available in the RAPS office. Professor Toulan, born and reared in Egypt, earned a BS degree in architecture at the University of Cairo (1954), followed by a Master’s degree in City Planning at the University of California, Berkeley (1959), and a Ph.D. at the University of Pennsylvania (1965). In 1965 he assumed a post as the first Planning Director of the Greater Cairo region. During 1966-1968 he held an appointment as Lecturer on Housing and Urban Land Economics at the University of Cairo. From 1969 to 1971 he served as Senior Research Associate at the Institute of Urban Environment at Columbia University in New York. Prior to coming to PSU in 1972 as Director of the Urban Studies Program, Professor Toulan had engaged extensively in instruction, research, and policy making related to urban and regional planning. In 1976, as founding Dean of the College of Urban and Public Affairs, he assumed responsibility for that academic unit’s program expansion. In 1977 President Joseph C. Blumel appointed Dean Toulan to head a long-range campus planning committee which led to the formation of a planning task force of administrative and academic leaders that produced “Portland State University, A Strategic Plan for the 1980s.” That plan laid the groundwork for projecting physical structures to be linked to academic programs that subsequently enhanced development and growth in the Portland metropolitan area and the state of Oregon. In consonance with the University’s community outreach, Professor Toulan served as a consultant or member of various public affairs units, such as the Portland Housing Advisory Committee, Tri-Met Citizens Budget Committee, and the Urban Growth Boundary committee. When a crisis of central administrative management erupted in 1988 with the dismissal and replacement of PSU’s president, Dean Toulan suggested positive and helpful guidance that facilitated the leadership transition. While studying at the University of Pennsylvania Nohad met Dirce Moroni, a Fulbright Scholar in city planning from Rosario, Argentina, and in 1964 they married. Dirce Moroni de Toulan engaged in various campus-related activities including service as the Faculty Women’s Association’s president and promotion of its scholarship program. Concurrently she pursued her profession as an architect and city planner, and, along with Nohad, supported a variety of charitable and civic functions, including local Parent Teacher and Neighborhood Associations, Mercy Corps, Interfaith Council of Greater Portland, Muslim Education Trust, and the American Research Center in Egypt. They thoroughly respected and promoted each other’s religion and culture. A funeral service attended by a large number of friends from the Portland area and abroad was held November 11, 2013, at the Portland Art Museum. Imam Mikal Shabazz and Reverend Father James Mayo offered prayers from their respective faiths. A memorial service was held Tuesday, November 19, 2013, at Portland State University. Survivors include their children Omar Toulan and Miriam Toulan (Manfred) Kuerten of Portland; brother, Dr. Jorge Moroni; sister, Heba Toulan; and nine nieces and nephews. To all family members, our organization extends its heartfelt condolences with the full understanding that their untimely loss cannot be replaced. On November 1, 2013, The Oregonian editorial board presented a full news summary of Dean Toulan’s career accomplishments; an extensive obituary appeared in the November 10 issue. Original copies may be consulted at the RAPS office. An online guest book may be signed at www.oregonlive.com/obits. To contribute to the Nohad and Dirce Toulan Endowed Scholarship at the PSU Foundation, go to https//www.foundation.pdx.edu/publicgift/toulan_memorial.jsp --Victor C. Dahl, Emeritus Professor of History, November 20, 2013. 6 D
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