HAMMOND – A.D. (Dick) Sander, 84, a former Munster resident and administrator and professor at Purdue University Calumet, has died. He played a leadership role during PUC’s formative years in the 1960s and 1970s.

            Sander served Purdue Calumet from 1962 to 1989 and helped the university gain approval to award baccalaureate and master’s degrees at the Hammond campus. He held several senior level administrative positions, including founding dean of the university’s former School of Humanities, Education and Social Services.

            He was a professor of history and the A.D. Sander Award for Academic Excellence was established in his honor.

            “Dick Sander was a distinguished scholar, a very fine teacher, a well-organized administrator and a supporting colleague and friend,” said Saul Lerner, a professor of history. “He played an exceedingly important role in Purdue Calumet’s attainment of academic autonomy, the development of the academic structure of the university and the growth of mutually supportive faculty and administrative governance on campus.”