About Franc Grum

Franc Grum was born and educated in Slovenia-Yugoslavia. He attended the Classical Lyceum and the University in Ljubljana where he obtained a doctorate degree in classical philiology. He was a member of the national underground organization whose aim was to fight for the liberation of the country. In this activity he served in the capacity of Captain of the Yugoslav Royal Army. After the Communist take over of Yugoslavia in 1945 he left the country for Austria. In Spittal, Austria he was engaged in teaching classical and modern languages. In February of 1950 he left Austria and emigrated to the United States. His sponsor was a farmer from Medford, Wisconsin and there he established his first residence in the USA along with his wife, Albina, and two daughers, Iva and Mary Anne. In the spring of 1950 he moved the family to Waukegan, Illinois where he was employed by the Motor Product Corporation (Deepfreeze). He started on the assembly line producing freezers. After two months he was promoted to foreman of that line. While in Waukegn he contacted the University of Chicago and passed the graduate record examination. In November of 1950 he moved to Rochester, New York and joined the Physics Division of Eastman Kodak Company's Research Laboratories. He matriculated into the University of Rochester and earned a Bacholor of Science degree in Physics and a Masters degree in Optics. During this time he also welcommed his third daughter, Margaret, to his family. He progressed at Kodak's Research Labs to become Research Associate in 1962.

Franc belonged to many organizations and achieved great things. He was the Inter-Society Color Council President and also President of the U.S. National Committee of the International Commission on Illumination (CIE). In 1970 he was appointed to chairmanship of the Corporate Metrology Committee. At that time, he also became Kodak's Research Lab representative on the Corporate Standards Council, which made him instrumental in implementing corporate metrology worldwide. He also wrote a five volume treatise entitled "Optical Radiation Measurements" from 1979 to 1984.

In the Spring of 1983 he took an early retirement from Kodak to become the Richard S. Hunter Professor of Color Science, Appearance, and Technology at RIT. During his time there he established the Munsell Color Science Laboratory after a two day symposium entitled "Frontiers in Color Science." While at RIT, Franc accomplished numerous tasks before his sudden death in December of 1985. Franc's vision of the Color Science program at RIT has been fulfilled today. By building this learning center we honor his dedication and hard work.