SMSU justice administration professor Dr. William Du Bois dies at 68
MARSHALL — A Southwest Minnesota State University professor who made an impact on many students with his intelligence, stories and kindness has died.
Dr. William Du Bois, a justice administration professor, died Friday at the age of 68. He had been a professor at SMSU since 2005.
Former student Rachael Bucholz said she appreciated Du Bois’ teaching style more after graduating and getting into the “real world.” Under Du Bois’ tutelage, she honed her critical thinking skills.
“I learned that it was more than OK to challenge my professor,” Bucholz said. “It was OK to critically think about his lessons, which gave me the confidence to question others, and to really consider the sources when hearing the latest news and findings.”
Bucholz is a committee legislative assistant for agriculture finance in St. Paul, working with Representatives Rod Hamilton and Nick Zerwas.
“Bill planted the seed for my career goal — to work with problem-solving courts,” she said. “Obviously, I’m not there yet, but it’s a work in progress. He planted the seeds that talking as a group in a circle is the best way to communicate, that restorative healing needs to come from all angles. He planted the seeds to not just consider the mother of Jesus, but the mother of Judas as well.”
His classes provided a foundation for his students to carry on into the world.
“Bill may have passed this life, but he has left behind thousands of students that have re-shaped their thinking, even in the smallest ways, because of him,” Bucholz said. “I certainly wasn’t his favorite student, but I still appreciate his willingness for debate, dialogue, and honesty. The world is still a very broken place, but I believe he has given many of us the tools to start fixing some of those foundational cracks.”
Another student, Andrew Peltz, said, “Bill had a lot of passion in his work and never hesitated to share his beliefs or position on many different topics. I appreciated that about him. For myself, Bill had talked me into taking a three day RJ (restorative justice) class that was held over a weekend. Little did I know that class would turn into a career direction that I am passionate about. “
Peltz went to visit Du Bois in the hospital recently at Abbott Northwestern Hospital.
“Although all the odds were not in his favor, Bill’s strong-willed attitude and mindset carried on as he talked with us about the classes he wanted to teach the following semester, ‘and stuff like that.’ It was a pleasure getting to know him and it is always fun as I run into fellow students of his that share their familiar stories of him.”
Du Bois was born in Ottumwa, Iowa, and after graduating from high school in 1966, he moved to many places furthering his education and then teaching. He studied at William Penn University in Iowa, the University of Arkansas, Sonoma State University in California, and earned his doctorate in sociology from Oklahoma State University.
He taught at some of his alma maters in addition to Drake University, Iowa State, St. Cloud State, Mankato State, and South Dakota State University.
Fellow justice administration professor BC Franson appreciated the different point of view Du Bois brought to a conversation.
“Bill was a good person with a passion for justice,” she said. “I worked with Bill for 11 years, but I feel like I had known him my whole life. He brought a different perspective to any conversation and I will miss that. We didn’t always agree, but we worked well together and that after all is what people need to do, not only for those who seek justice but those who work with others in general — find the compromise. In Bill’s words, loosely remembered, ‘without empathy there can be no compassion; compassion is the seed to empathy and empathy will lead to justice.'”
Services for Du Bois will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday at Hamilton Funeral Home in Marshall. Visitation will be from 5-7 p.m. today at the Hamilton Funeral Home in Marshall. Visitation will continue one hour prior to the service, from 10-11 a.m. Wednesday at the funeral home. Burial will be at 9 a.m. Thursday in Bloomfield, Iowa. Arrangements are with the Hamilton Funeral Home in Marshall. Guest book and tribute wall available online at www.hamiltonfh.com.