#172
Date: Sun, 6 Mar 2005 09:04:19 -0600
From: "Mark J. Kittleson, PhD, FAAHB" <kittle@SIU.EDU>
Subject: Sad News For Health Education
** The Leader in Health Education-AAHE
** www.aaheinfo.org
**
** Don't Miss This!!!
** "15th Annual Social Marketing in Public Health" June 15-18
** Clearwater Beach, FL. www.cme.hsc.usf.edu/coph/smph 2/17
**
I received this message from Dr. Robert McDermott and he asked that I forward it
over the HEDIR.
It is with sadness that I report to the HEDIR audience the death of Dr.
Donald N. Boydston, former Chair of the Department of Health Education at
Southern Illinois University, Carbondale (SIU-C). In a university teaching and
administrative career that spanned more than four decades, "Dr. B"
helped to shape the development of academic Health Education as we know it
today, especially through his vision of graduate education. Under his direction
and nurturing guidance, SIU-C became a prolific doctoral program, ultimately
playing a major role in staffing the health education faculties and fostering
the leadership teams of scores of colleges and universities, thereby extending
SIU-C's substantive professional influence. In the 1960s, Boydston brought two
scholarly giants of their time, Dr. Elena M.
Sliepcevich and Dr. Robert D. Russell, to the SIU-C faculty. Acknowledging their
experience and wisdom as essential components of graduate training, Boydston
initiated what would become his trademark of making strategic hires of
individuals whose philosophy and work ethic would be passed on to future
generations of health education professionals. In the 1970s and 1980s, using his
keen intuition for potential in young faculty members, Boydston helped to launch
the careers of several notable individuals: Elaine Vitello, Robert Gold, Paul
Sarvela, (each subsequently becoming a Dean at a relatively young age), Dale
Ritzel, Robert McDermott, and numerous others whose research and mentoring
commitments continue to extend his legacy.
More than one person who went on to become a distinguished faculty member at
SIU-C or elsewhere, has remarked of Dr. B: "He took a chance and gave me a job
when many others thought I was not worth their time."
A Ft. Worth, Texas native who grew up in Oklahoma and earned two degrees from
Oklahoma State University, Boydston excelled in athletics, and found many
metaphorical comparisons between the athletic playing field and the world of
academia. A modest individual, he rarely spoke of, or even acknowledged his own
achievements. A decorated Marine Corps veteran of the Pacific campaign of World
War II, and a doctoral graduate of Columbia University, he also served SIU-C as
its Director of Intercollegiate Athletics during one of its most successful and
prosperous eras. People who knew him will remember his dry sense of humor, his
commitment to being a champion for his faculty, and his uncanny ability to "cut
to the chase" in matters of great importance. Perhaps most of all, he will be
remembered for his generosity to generations of students for whom he had the
highest regard. Retiring from SIU-C after the 1987 academic year, Boydston moved
to Naples, Florida where he continued to follow the professional activities of
those he mentored. In retirement he found both leisure and excitement while
honing his tennis skills, fervently consuming the written word, both fiction and
non-fiction, and occasionally, sharpening his own pen to chastise an overzealous
columnist or editor.
Dr. Donald N. Boydston leaves us a legacy that is rich, and one with a sense of
tradition and professional prowess extending well beyond the walls of the
university that he served so well. His loss, though tragic, reminds us again of
the leaders in health education who stepped up at a time when having the
fortitude to do so mattered a great deal. Although Dr. B's self-deprecating
style no doubt would cause him to disdain even the modest attention this small
tribute to his life and career brings, let it help serve as a "call to action"
for us to respect our tradition and to advance our profession, an imperative
that he might indeed find more fitting.
Some years ago, a scholarship was established at SIU-C in Boydston's name.
Faculty, alumni, and friends of SIU-C who wish to honor his memory may donate to
the Donald N. Boydston Graduate Scholarship Award, c/o Department of Health
Education and Recreation, Pulliam Hall 307, Southern Illinois University,
Carbondale, IL 62901. The many professionals he guided join in extending their
sympathy to his widow, Dr. Jo Ann Boydston. Jo Ann, although your loss is a
deeply personal one, please know that many people will remember Don with
fondness for a long time.
Mark J. Kittleson, PhD, FAAHB
Professor, Health Education
www.kittle.siu.edu
www.hedir.org
Voice: 618.453.1841
FAX: 618.453.1829
eMail: <mailto:kittle@siu.edu> kittle@siu.edu
**
** The HEDIR is Supported by Paid Advertising
** www.hedir.org to Learn More
**
** A New Concept in Publishing...
** HEDIR Publishing
** www.hedir.org/publishing
**
------------------------------