John G. Sommer ’63

John G. Sommer, 76, the dean of the study abroad program at the School for International Training from 1981-1999, died Nov. 11, 2017. A member of Beta Theta Pi, he received his degree with honors and with distinction in letters. He also received a master’s degree from the Johns Hopkins School for International Studies in 1968. His career, dedicated to advancing international understanding and development, began as a volunteer building schools in South Vietnam. Co-author of the 1969 book, Viet Nam: The Unheard Voices, he chronicled a growing concern about U.S. action in Vietnam during the late ’60s. From 1970-1975 he served with the Ford Foundation in India, and from 1975-1980 in Washington, D.C., where he had senior positions at the Peace Corps and USAID. In 1981 he joined SIT, where under his leadership more than 14,000 students participated in more than 40 countries. In his honor, SIT established a scholarship in his name. He also served as vice president of Eisenhower Fellowships, an exchange program for emerging world leaders, based in Philadelphia. In 2007 he returned to Vermont. In addition to two children and five grandchildren, he leaves his partner, Ann Wright-Parsons; his former wife, Wendy Solmssen Sommer; and his brother.