BRYN MAWR COMMUNITY MOURNS THE LOSS
OF ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF HISTORY MICHAEL POWELL

Assistant Professor of History Michael Powell, a multitalented scholar of medieval history and culture who was recognized by colleagues and students as an outstanding teacher, died of multiple myeloma at his home on Tuesday, June 8. He was 42 years old.

"Michael was a brilliant scholar and a wonderful person," said Associate Professor Sharon Ullman, who chairs Bryn Mawr's history department. "This is an excruciating loss, and it leaves a hole in our hearts."

Powell was born on Feb. 5, 1962. He studied viola and piano during his youth in Atlanta and earned a B.A. in music and religion from Indiana University in 1985. In 1998, he received a Master of Music in choral conducting from the Yale School of Music and an M.A.R. in liturgics from the Yale Divinity School. He was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to France in 1988 and studied in Lyon. He served as director of liturgy and music for Visitation Church in Kansas City, Mo., from 1989-90. His Master of Arts and Ph.D. in history and medieval studies were awarded by Yale University in 1993 and 1998 respectively.

After two years as a guest professor at Sarah Lawrence College, Powell began teaching at Bryn Mawr in 1999. "It was an easy decision to hire him," said Ullman. "He was an enormously engaging and accomplished individual with many talents. Michael's work was remarkably creative — he was interdisciplinary in a field that has often been more hidebound. It offered a special complexity, bringing together all of his expertise in historical texts, music and theology in expansive and generous ways."

Powell's scholarly promise was matched by his classroom success. In 2003, Powell received the Lindback Distinguished Teaching Award, signaling that his colleagues recognized him as a "well-prepared, highly motivated and generally inspiring teacher." Several students dedicated their theses to him, Ullman reported.

Meredith Stoll '04, an independent major in medieval studies whom Powell advised, described him as "an amazingly energetic and engaging professor who could find something constructive in every student's contribution to class. His classes were always lots of fun, but he had very high expectations, too. He was the most demanding professor I had, and he helped me improve my writing and reading skills more than anyone else."

At Bryn Mawr, Powell brought an interdisciplinary approach to courses dealing with court culture, Christianity, the rise of urbanism, homosexuality and food in medieval Europe. "He encouraged students to stretch their limits beyond traditional boundaries," said Stoll.

He was a fan of the New York Yankees and opera as well as an enthusiastic amateur chef. The latter vocation benefited students, whom he often entertained at his home.

Powell is survived by his partner, Todd Brown, at 415 City Avenue, #A2, Merion Station, Pa., 19066; his parents, Marjorie and Furney Powell; sisters Deborah Powell, Patricia Fawcett and Dorothea Faw; and a brother, David Powell.

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