The Monmouth University community mourns the loss of David Tietge, a professor who had taught at the school for 15 years.
Tietge, an associate professor at Monmouth’s English Department, died on Nov. 28 at the age of 51.
At the time of his death, Tietge resided in Atlantic Highlands, near the university’s campus in West Long Branch. He was born in Iowa City, Ia., and also lived in Long Branch before moving to Atlantic Highlands, according to his obituary. Tietge is survived by his daughter, Carlie Anne Tietge, her mother, Dr. Katherine Leigh Tietge and her children Brandon and Jason Burt, his parents, Dr. James D. Tietge and Janet Tietge, and his sister, Erica Proper.
In addition to serving as an associate professor, Tietge was a member of the university’s graduate faculty and was the director of first year composition. He taught courses in college composition, literature, literature studies for English majors, literary criticism and theory, definitions of contemporary rhetoric, and teaching composition, according to his faculty profile.
Tietge held a bachelor’s degree from the University of Northern Iowa, a master’s degree from Indiana State University and a Doctor of Philosophy from Southern Illinois University Carbondale. His major interests, according to his faculty profile, included rhetorical theory, rhetoric of science and rhetoric of popular culture. He also wrote “Rational Rhetoric: The Role of Science in Popular Discourse”, published in 2008, and “Flash Effect: Science and the Rhetorical Origins of Cold War America”, published in 2002.
“With a very heavy heart, [we] must tell you that Dr. David Tietge passed away,” the English Department said in an online statement. “Please keep his family, especially his daughter, in your thoughts. He was a very smart man, and a loved and valued member of our community. We will miss him very much.”
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made in his memory to the Dr. David J. Tietge Memorial Scholarship at Monmouth University, according to his obituary.
