Wilbur H. Baisinger's Obituary
Wilbur Howard "Bur" Baisinger died October 6, 2012 at 92. Born October 18, 1919 in South Prairie, WA, he attended grade school in Elbe, high school in Puyallup, and graduated from the College of Puget Sound magna cum laude in 1941 with a BA in Speech and Drama. He served in WWII as an Army Air Forces Captain. From Northwestern University, Bur earned his MA in Theatre, then his PhD in Public Address and Speech. A professor at the University of Puget Sound, he chaired the Dept of Communication & Theatre Arts for years. He is preceded in death by first wife, Anita Misener Baisinger, second wife Amylee Davis, brother Donald, son Donald, daughter Joy, daughter in-law Therese, and is survived by brother Lloyd, son Alan, son in-law Mark Schlessman, stepson Don Bryan and stepdaughters Joy Eaton, Martha Woodbury, Ruth Marie Tomlinson and their families. Memorial services will be at First United Methodist Church Tacoma 1:00 pm Saturday October 13. Memorial contributions can be sent in his name to the church.
The following information is from Kristine Bartanen, Academic Vice President and Dean of the University:
When a student, Bur was a debater in 1937-1938, assistant dramatics manager in 1939-1940, dramatics manager in 1940-41, and corresponding secretary of the Delta Kappa Phi fraternity in 1938. Following his graduation, Bur studied further in 1941-1942 at C.P.S. to earn a teaching certificate. Following his military service and completion of a master's degree at Northwestern, Bur was invited by President R. Franklin Thompson to return to Puget Sound as an Instructor in Speech for Fall 1947 where he was able to work with his professor and mentor, Martha Pearl "Teach" Jones. President Thompson supported Bur's further graduate study at Northwestern University, 1953-1956, and Bur and Anita were delighted to -Å"return home- to rejoin the campus community following Bur's completion of the doctoral program.
Bur broadened his expertise to include speech disorders, audiology, and children's language development through several summers of coursework at University of Washington and Stanford University, ultimately earning American Speech and Hearing Association Certification of Clinical Competency in 1968. Bur developed new curriculum in these areas for Puget Sound and supervised many students in internships at Mary Bridge Speech and Hearing Center. Later, as the speech communication field developed new emphases in human communication, particularly interpersonal communication, Bur developed expertise and commitment to these areas (including participation in several summer workshops in Oregon) and taught courses in introduction to human communication, presentational communication, and interpersonal communication for the balance of his career.
Bur Baisinger was a loyal citizen and servant of the college, serving as Chair of the Faculty Senate 1971-72, including the faculty subcommittee to write the Faculty Code. A selection of his service includes the Board of Directors of Niwa House; the Tuition Exchange Committee; the Instruction Committee of the Board of Trustees; the Faculty Advancement Committee; and the Curriculum Committee, chairing that group for at least three terms and, in summer 1975, joining Associate Dean Frank Peterson and former Curriculum Committee chairs in both revamping the purpose and function of the committee and providing foundation for the five-year departmental curriculum review process that persists to this day.
Bur also chaired the Speech and Drama Department for many years, including one stint that lasted thirteen years, and was an important friend and mentor to those of us who were fortunate to work with him. He was strong in tough moments -" and there were those -" as well as generous in the time and care he gave to family and friends.
Bur was also a member of and active in an array of professional associations including the American Educational Theatre Association, the Speech Association of America (now National Communication Association), International Communication Association, Western Speech Communication Association, Washington Speech and Hearing Association (for which he served as chair of the College-University Board), American Speech and Hearing Association, and the Alexander Graham Bell Society for the Deaf.
The W. H. Baisinger Outstanding Graduate Award in Communication and Theatre Arts was created in Bur's honor at the time of his retirement and is now presented annually at Academic Convocation to recognize a graduate in Communication Studies who demonstrates the strengths that Bur modeled over his career.
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