Courtney S. Coleman *55
Courtney died Dec. 2, 2023, in La Verne, Calif., at age 93.
Born in Ventura, Calif., he earned an undergraduate degree in math from Berkeley in 1951, and a Ph.D. in math from Princeton in 1955.
His teaching career took him first to Wesleyan. Courtney was doing research at the Research Institute for Advanced Studies in Baltimore when he was offered a job at the newly established Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, Calif.
Courtney’s teaching career spanned 43 years in Harvey Mudd’s math department, where his field of specialty was differential equations. With his colleague Robert Borelli, he co-authored Differential Equations, a Modeling Perspective, a textbook used in many advanced math courses at Harvey Mudd and elsewhere.
Founding Harvey Mudd president Joseph Platt refers to Courtney’s years of distinguished service in his book about the college, The First Twenty Years.
Courtney was a member of the American Mathematical Society, the Mathematics Association of America, and the board of editors for the serial “Contributions to Differential Equations.”
Predeceased by his wife Julia, Courtney is survived by children David, Margaret, and Diane; seven grandchildren; six great-grandsons; and sisters Margaret Colescott and Nancy Coleman.
Graduate alumni memorials are prepared by the APGA.
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