ALBION, Mich. – Bruce Borthwick, longtime Albion College political science professor and community activist, died Saturday, Nov. 16, at his home in Albion following a battle with pancreatic cancer.  He was 64.

A member of the Albion faculty from 1965 to 2000, Borthwick taught courses on comparative politics, political systems of Europe, international foreign policy, and American foreign policy.  An expert in Middle Eastern and Chinese politics, Borthwick wrote one of the first textbooks on Middle East politics for Prentice Hall publishers, and he team-taught a seminar on Islam, Judaism and the Middle East with former Albion College Religious Studies Professor Frank Frick.  He was chair of the political science department from 1975 to 1982.

"Bruce approached the challenge of cancer with the same dignity and resolve that he faced all other aspects of his life," said Albion College President Peter Mitchell.  "His courage, faith, and determination enabled him to put even a life-threatening illness in context and perspective. He faced death with integrity and confidence and in the process elevated the noble quality of the human condition."

While studying and teaching the world, Borthwick focused much of his activism close to home.  He was instrumental in the development of public housing for low-income families in Albion, and he was active in the NAACP, helping to open doors and erase barriers for Albion's African American population.  In 1963, he and his wife, Doris, participated in the March on Washington.

"Bruce was very active in the life of the community," recalled Myron Levine, Albion College  professor of political science.

Borthwick was involved in a variety of community organizations, including the Albion Community Non-Profit Housing Corporation, First Presbyterian Church, Albion Area Ambulance Service, Citizens to Beautify Albion, and the City of Albion's Zoning Board of Appeals.  In 1999, he was elected president of the Albion chapter of NAACP, and this year received the NAACP Outstanding Service Award.  He was an active member of the Albion Sister City Committee, participating ion the first delegation to Noisy-le-Roi, France, in 1997.

"He added to my education," Levine said.  "He was an expert in the Middle East and China, but I'll always remember that he taught me about Albion and its history.  Bruce also afforded others great respect.  He was actively concerned with Arab politics, but always gave my concerns on Israel full respect.  He never once tried to force his views on me.  Bruce believed that all voices should be reflected in the curriculum."

A past president of the Michigan Conference of Political Scientists, Borthwick studied in China in 1984-85 and was the first professor at Albion College to examine Chinese politics separately from Chinese history, according to Levine.  More recently, Levine said, Borthwick had studied the emergence of the European Union as well as the growing importance of  "supranational" organizations in international affairs. 

Throughout his career Borthwick studied extensively in Europe and across the Middle East.  In 1998, he studied Middle Eastern water policy, traveling to Amman, Jordan, to examine the issue.  In 1987, he participated in a Fulbright Seminar in Pakistan.  He spoke Arabic, German and French.

Bruce Maynard Borthwick was born May 2, 1938 in Port Jefferson, Long Island, N.Y., the first child of Rev. George Borthwick and Helen Maynard Borthwick, and was raised in Brooklyn, N.Y., and Troy, N.Y.  Borthwick earned a bachelor's degree in political science in 1959 from Syracuse University.  Moving to Michigan the same year, Borthwick earned a master's degree in Near Eastern studies in 1960 and Ph.D. in political science in 1965, both from the University of Michigan, where he met his future wife, Doris Ann Esch.  They were married in 1963.  Borthwick was a lecturer in government at Georgetown University in 1964-65 before being hired by Albion College. 

Borthwick  also enjoyed physical activity with his family, including bicycling, hiking, camping, swimming, canoeing and walking.  He planned and led numerous summer camping and canoeing trips with his wife and children and the extended family.  He also was an avid cook,  teaching Chinese cooking in adult education classes in Albion and elsewhere in mid-Michigan.  He introduced his “Presbyterian egg rolls” at the Festival of the Forks. 

Borthwick is survived by his wife, Doris, and their children Andrew Eliot Borthwick, 36, of Brooklyn, N.Y., Philip Vernon Borthwick, 33, of Jackson, Mich., and Hannah Laura Borthwick, 27, of San Francisco, Calif., as well as two grandchildren.  He also is survived by his father, George Borthwick, of Troy, N.Y., his brothers Alan Borthwick of New York, N.Y., and David Borthwick of Cambridge, N.Y., and his sister, Katherine Borthwick Morgan of Granby, Conn.  

A memorial service will be held Saturday, Nov. 23, at 11 a.m. at the First Presbyterian Church of Albion on Porter Street.  Visitation will be at the J. Kevin Tidd Funeral Home on Friday, Nov. 22, from 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. There will be visitation from 10 to 11 a.m. on Saturday at the Presbyterian Church.  Interment will take place at a later date at the Oakwood Cemetery in Troy, N.Y.

The family has asked that, in lieu of flowers, gifts be made to the First Presbyterian Church, 305 E. Porter, Albion, Mich. 49224; Albion College, c/o President's Office, 611 E. Porter, Albion, Mich. 49224; and Good Samaritan Hospice Care, 166 E. Goodale Ave., Battle Creek, Mich. 49017.

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