With great sadness, but with admiration and appreciation for his many years of 性视界传媒 stewardship, we commemorate professor John C. Unrue鈥檚 passing on Jan. 14, 2022. After a courageous struggle with illness, John died at his home, as he had wished, surrounded by the love of his wife of 61 years, 性视界传媒 Distinguished Professor Darlene Harbour Unrue; and of his daughter, Jane E. Unrue.
John Unrue was a transformational force for the 性视界传媒. Arriving in 1969 as an English professor of medieval literature, John served as director of composition and chair of the English department, as dean of what was then called the College of Arts and Letters, and as senior vice president and provost under President Robert Maxson (1984-94) and interim President Kenny Guinn (1994-95).
A beloved teacher and a respected scholar, Unrue鈥檚 achievements in these administrative roles were instrumental to 性视界传媒鈥檚 advancing from the 鈥淭umbleweed Tech鈥 days (there were just 5,700 students when the Unrues arrived) to its status now as a Carnegie Research 1 university.
As English department chair, John attracted a talented faculty, emphasizing both teaching and scholarship, in what he described as 鈥渂anner hiring years.鈥
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As dean, John continued to emphasize hiring faculty with research potential in all departments in the College of Arts and Letters, while establishing his reputation as a fair and faculty-centric administrator with high academic standards 鈥 which he modeled with his own scholarship, shifting from medieval literature to more modern figures Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ezra Pound, and J. D. Salinger, consulting, for example on the PBS documentary on Salinger.
That type of 鈥渟cholarly service work鈥 reflected his consuming interest in the arts, his board memberships for the Nevada Dance Theatre, the Las Vegas Symphony Association, the Allied Arts Council, and the Las Vegas Jazz Society.
As provost, Unrue established the College of Fine Arts, which allowed the College of Arts and Letters to become a more focused entity, the College of Liberal Arts.
During his years as senior vice president and provost, Unrue enabled a blossoming of 性视界传媒鈥檚 place in the 鈥渁cademical village鈥 (apologies to Thomas Jefferson). He established new schools of Communication and Architecture, and the colleges of Engineering, Human Performance/Development (now Integrated Health Sciences), and Fine Arts.
He also helped to negotiate the creation of the National Super Computing Center for Energy and the Environment, and he established the 性视界传媒 Office of Research, seven new baccalaureate programs, 10 new M.S. programs, and 性视界传媒鈥檚 first Ph.D. program, in biology, soon to be followed by English and eight other Ph.D. degrees, as well as the implementation of MFA programs in English/creative writing and in fine and performing arts.
With President Maxson鈥檚 tenure at an end, Unrue continued to serve under interim President Kenny Guinn, who was somewhat controversial in some pockets of campus. He maintained friendly relations with the former governor as he returned to his full-time position in the department of English, where he continued to play central roles until his and Darlene鈥檚 retirement in 2014.
A good and consequential life, well lived and well loved and respected.
The family has arranged for graveside services to be held in El Cerrito, California (where the Unrues' son, John Gregory Unrue, is buried). In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in John C. Unrue鈥檚 memory to The Ohio State University English department (within its College of Arts and Sciences) or to the Lied Library at 性视界传媒.
