James W. Hudson, professor emeritus at Morgan State University, passed away on 28 August 2015, at his home in Baltimore, Maryland, after a long illness. James’ father Donald, himself the son of missionaries and born in Japan, passed on to Jim a strong interest in international issues and a love of travel that helped shape his professional career and personal life.
Jim was born on 28 March 1930, in Carlinville, Illinois, and grew up in Evanston, outside of Chicago. He received his BA in geography from Haverford College in Pennsylvania in 1952 and his MS in geography from the University of Wisconsin in 1954.
After receiving his master's, Jim wanted a respite from school. Shortly after a conversation with his uncle (a physician who had provided medical treatment to bedouin in eastern Syria and taught at the American University of Beirut medical school), he applied for a teaching position at the International College in Beirut, Lebanon. He taught English there from 1954 to 1956 and traveled throughout the region, including Syria, Jordan, and Palestine. It was during this time in Beirut that Jim developed a lifelong interest in the Middle East.
In 1956, Jim returned to the U.S. and earned his PhD in geography from the University of Chicago. After two years teaching geography at Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant, he decided to return to the Middle East. He taught geography at the American University of Beirut for the next six years.
Jim returned to the States and in 1970 took a position with Morgan State University as a professor of geography. He remained at the school until his retirement in 1992. While at Morgan State, Jim established the master of arts program in international studies. He was a member of the Association of American Geographers and a founding member of the Sudan Studies Association (1981), for which he served as president. He was also a member of the Middle East Studies Association, serving in 1987 as the chair of its annual meeting program committee and as a member of its local arrangements committee. A Fulbright scholar, Jim authored the Illustrated Atlas of the Middle East (1975) as well as numerous articles and conference papers.
As a lifelong aficionado of railroads, Jim collected train schedules from all over the world. He is survived by his adopted son Ayman and his two brothers, Donald and Glenn, as well as nieces and nephews.
