Professor Emeritus William Baum remembered

Professor Emeritus William Baum died December 25. Baum, a professor at Grand Valley for 40 years, came to the university in 1965 to teach political science. He was 76 years old.

Baum earned a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in political science from Kalamazoo College and a doctorate in political theory from the University of Iowa. His teaching career began at Creighton University and South East Missouri State College. His areas of expertise included the Holocaust, Constitutional law and George Orwell. He had a major influence on thousands of students over the years. His scholarly work on the Holocaust gave roots to the book, Good Morning by Joseph Stevens, and to two WGVU documentaries.

“I was sorry to learn that Dr. William Baum died on Christmas Day. His contributions to Grand Valley over 40 years are many and significant,” said Gayle Davis, provost and vice president for Academic Affairs. “A man who loved basketball, ballet, baseball, art, music, good wine and food, he will long be remembered as an outstanding teacher, a passionate scholar, an exemplar of liberal education and a true humanitarian.”

Baum earned numerous awards and honors. He received the Outstanding Educator Award at Grand Valley in 1996, receiving praise from area lawyers and city managers. His students described him as “demanding but fair” and a “great humanitarian.”

“Bill’s commitment to education and democracy will live on through the endowed William Baum Lecture Series, which has enabled us to bring speakers to Grand Valley such as U.S. Senator Ken Salazar,” said Mark Richards, chair of the Department of Political Science. “In conjunction with Amnesty International at Grand Valley, the fund was used in December to bring Bukeni T. Waruzi Beck to speak on ‘Child Soldiers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.’”

Baum retired from Grand Valley in May 2005. He is survived by his wife, Nancy, son Jefferson who taught dance at Grand Valley, a daughter and two granddaughters. A memorial service was held January 5 at Christ Community Church in Spring Lake.