Constance Cain Hungerford
Constance (Connie) Cain Hungerford, a longtime Swarthmore resident and pillar of Swarthmore College, died Thursday, May 12. She was 73.
The oldest of five children, Connie was born to Craig and Jocelyn Cain and raised in Evanston, Illinois. She attended Evanston High School and then Wellesley College, where she majored in art history. After graduating from Wellesley in 1970, she earned her master’s degree and doctorate in art history from the University of California at Berkeley, completing her PhD in 1977. Connie began teaching at Swarthmore College as an instructor in 1975, becoming an assistant professor in 1977. She spent her entire career at the college, retiring last year as the Mari S. Michener Professor of Art History.
Connie was a distinguished scholar, winning fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the American Council of Learned Societies, among others. She was the leading expert on the 19th-century French classical artist Ernest Meissonier, authoring Ernest Meissonier: Master in his Genre (Cambridge University Press) and curating a retrospective of his work at the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Lyon, France.
She was at least as distinguished — and equally beloved — as a teacher and administrator. She taught many hundreds of students over the course of her nearly 50 years at the college and prized her relationships with them. The admiration was mutual; many students stayed in touch with Connie long after they graduated, valuing her ongoing mentorship and friendship. Connie was also an institutional citizen without peer. In addition to serving on countless key committees, and as department chair twice, Connie became provost in 2001 and served in that role for 10 years — longer than any other provost in the college’s history. It is a reflection of the deep respect she commanded that she was named interim president for the period 2014-15.
Connie’s life off campus was just as rich. She and her husband of 33 years, Hans Oberdiek, travelled the world together. They visited every continent, including Antarctica: it seemed there was no place they did not explore. They spent long stretches in Oxford and Paris; Sri Lanka, where they lived during a sabbatical and directed a study abroad program, was a particularly special place for them. When they were not in some far-flung part of the globe, Connie and Hans could be found in Lewes, Delaware, walking on the beach, riding bikes through the dunes, or entertaining friends.
Connie is survived by her husband, Hans Oberdiek; siblings Christopher Cain, Barbara Hegerty, Jennifer Bross, and Carolyn Eng; stepchildren Kristin Howard, Anne Di Rosa, Heidi Foggo, and John Oberdiek; and 13 step-grandchildren. What they will remember most fondly about Connie is not her eminent scholarship, her life-changing teaching, her commitment to the college or her deft guidance of it, but rather her quiet warmth, her smile and laugh, her humility, and her care.
A June service is being planned. In lieu of flowers, please direct any gifts to either the Constance Hungerford Faculty Support Fund or the Connie Hungerford and Hans Oberdiek Student Summer Fellowship. Checks should be made out to Swarthmore College (with the fund name noted on the memo line) and mailed to Institutional Advancement, Swarthmore College, 500 College Ave., Swarthmore PA 19081.
