It is with regret that we announce the death of Klaus de Albuquerque. A well known scholar and teacher, Klaus also wrote engaging personal essays that have appeared in Transition and in Jouvert.
His most enduring professional legacy is his research on Caribbean society. Recipient of numerous grants and fellowships from international organizations and island governments, 
he was internationally recognized for his seminal contributions in inter-island migration, island demography, sustainable tourism strategies, the socio-economic impact of political status change, and the link between tourism and crime. In 1998, his five-part series on drugs and the Caribbean published in the largest Caribbean weekly, Caribbean Week, won The Distinguished Series Press Award. In 1999, the College of Charleston awarded him its highest honor for Distinguished Research and Scholarship. His pioneering work will continue to excite future generations of students and faculty.
The son of Alphonso and Ursula de Albuquerque, Klaus was born in Kampala, Uganda on January 14, 1946, and succumbed to a long illness on December 10, 1999. He grew up in Mombasa, Kenya, and moved to the United States in 1964 to further his education. He received his Baccalaureate Degree in Agriculture from California State University in 1968, and his Masters in Poultry Science and Doctorate in Sociology from Virginia Polytechnic and State University in 1976.
During a distinguished academic career that spanned the world, he held teaching and research positions at Clarendon College in Jamaica, the College of the Virgin Islands in St. Thomas, the University of the West Indies in Barbados, the Institute of Applied Social and Economic Research in Papua New Guinea, Wofford College in Spartanburg, and, since the later 1970s, the College of Charleston.
Few professors have been as well regarded by their students. They were deeply impressed both by his call to excellence and his ready availability to hear their smallest concerns. In the variety of administrative posts he held, he equally impressed his colleagues who found in Klaus a strong leader with sound discernment, and a caring mentor who in some cases literally changed lives through his sincere encouragement and collaboration. As testimony, few professors leave such a web of academic and personal friendships that criss-cross the globe. In 1988, he received the Distinguished Faculty Award from the College of Charleston.
Most of all, Klaus was a devoted son, brother, father and friend. He is survived by his beloved mother, Ursula, his dear sister, Claudia, and his son and closest companion, Aneel. He also leaves behind very many loving relatives and friends and care-givers who walked with him through the valley. They daily draw strength from his courage, stamina, integrity and love.
"Sarcoma Season" was written in tribute to Klaus by his long-time friend and collaborator, Jerome L. McElroy. Dr. McElroy's suite of Caribbean poems was published last year in Jouvert.
Sarcoma Season
"Wet Crotch" was
the surgeon's diagnosis
over four years ago.
But the V-frame
feather oak endures.
Leaves of pain
so thick with rot
the latticed sun can't
wink relief awake.
Dead dark bark debris
squirrels fear to peel
splotches jaws awry.
But his arms don't
compromise, and
every dawn his
feet plunge deeper
blindly scratching
for a vein of sand.
His unshaken shadow
against prairie heat
freshens our resolve.
-- Jerome L. McElroy
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