Martha Andresen, professor emerita of English at Pomona College in Claremont, California, died on March 24. She was 74 years old.
A native of Minneapolis, Professor Andresen was a graduate of the University of Minnesota, where she double majored in English and education. She went on to earn a master’s degree and Ph.D. in English literature at Yale University. Professor Andresen was a scholar of Renaissance literature and Shakespeare.
After teaching for two years at the University of Pittsburgh, Professor Andresen joined the faculty at Pomona College in 1972. She remained on the faculty for 34 years. For the final 16 years at Pomona, she was the Phebe Estelle Spaulding Professor of English. During her tenure, she earned the college’s Wig Award for Excellence in teaching a record seven times. She also won the prestigious Robert Foster Cherry Award for Great Teaching given out by Baylor University.