Necrology

James Shallcross Magee '55

Jan. 23, 1933-Dec. 17, 2019

James Shallcross Magee ’55, a political science professor and college administrator of Maple Grove, Minn., formerly of Grinnell, Iowa, and Ypsilanti, Mich., was born on Jan. 23, 1933, in Bryn Mawr, Pa. He was a son of the former Esther Shallcross and Leigh Magee, a fire insurance agent.

Magee prepared for college at Radnor High School in Wayne, Pa., where he was raised, and spent the summer after graduation volunteering at a Quaker work camp in Donesi, Italy. He was active at the College as a member of Delta Sigma Rho (the public speaking honorary society, for which he served as president his senior year), Debate Club, Spanish Club, and Chi Psi fraternity. He received the Student Christian Association and Fayerweather prize scholarships and was awarded the McKinney Prize in debate. He majored in philosophy and public policy and graduated with Phi Beta Kappa honors.

Magee relished his years on College Hill, noting in his 50th reunion yearbook, “I learned many lessons for life through campus politics, the debate team, public speaking, and the example of many, many professors.”

After graduation, Magee attended the London School of Economics on a Fulbright scholarship and earned his master’s degree in 1961 followed by a Ph.D. in 1963 in political science from Princeton University. He also attended the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, concentrating in African studies.

In addition to serving for two years in the U.S. Army as a chaplain’s assistant in Chicago, Magee spent 10 years teaching political science at Grinnell College, where he also served as department chair. In 1968, he won an Associated Colleges of the Midwest Non-Western Studies Fellowship to pursue studies on Africa at Haile Selassie University (now Addis Ababa University) in Ethiopia.

Magee moved on to Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti in 1972 to create a political science department and, from 1975 to 1977, served as vice president of academic affairs. In 1992, he received EMU’s Distinguished Faculty Teaching Award; the nomination letter declared, “Students are stimulated and challenged by his classes in an open and supportive atmosphere. His commitment to the learning process is legendary.”

In 2004, Magee settled in Maple Grove. An avid photographer known for his sense of humor, he enjoyed stamp collecting, cheering for the Minnesota Twins, the Minnesota orchestra, impressionist art, and theatre.

Magee died on Dec. 17, 2019, at age 86. He is survived by his wife, Joyce Magee; his former wife, Judy Magee; two daughters; one son; and four grandchildren.

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