Stephen L. Baehr

[AATSEEL Exec Dir]

Dear Colleagues,

As many of you already know, professor of Russian Steve Baehr, long-time
AATSEEL member and editor of the Slavic & E. European Journal, died
suddenly earlier in the week.  Here is his obituary as released by his
institution.

We mourn Steve's loss and extend our sympathies to his family.

Jerry Ervin

*  *  *  *  *
Gerard L. (Jerry) Ervin
Executive Director, American Ass'n of Teachers of 
  Slavic & E European Languages (AATSEEL)
1933 N. Fountain Park Dr., Tucson, AZ 85715 USA
Phone/fax:  520/885-2663
Email:  <AATSEEL at CompuServe.com>
AATSEEL Home Page: <http://clover.slavic.pitt.edu/~aatseel/>
2000 conference:  27-30 December, Washington, DC
2001 conference:  27-30 December, New Orleans, LA
*  *  *  *  *


STEPHEN L. BAEHR, VIRGINIA TECH CHAIR OF RUSSIAN STUDIES, DIES

BLACKSBURG, June 29, 2000-Dr. Stephen L. Baehr, 54, professor of 
Russian and chair of the Russian Studies Program in the Department of 
Foreign Languages and Literatures at Virginia Tech, died shortly 
after midnight June 28.

Dr. Baehr came to Virginia Tech in 1979 after teaching at Harvard 
University and the University of Virginia. He has earned great 
recognition for his work and praise for his mentoring of students and 
young faculty members. Jessica Folkart, a young faculty member, 
wrote, "I think all of us looked up to Steve as someone of great 
experience, wise advice, and helpful support."

Dr. Baehr earned the B.A. degree magna cum laude from Clark 
University in 1967 with a major in economics and a minor in Russian. 
He received a Certificate of the Critical Languages Program in 
Russian Studies from Princeton University in 1967, having spent his 
senior year there. He earned an M.A. degree from Columbia 
University's Department of Slavic Languages in 1970 and the Ph.D. 
with distinction from Columbia University in 1972 with a major in 
Russian literature and a minor in comparative literature.

Dr. Baehr's area of research was Russian literature, particularly 
Utopia, the relationship of man and the machine, and alchemy in 
Russian literature. Dr. Baehr's seminal work on Russia's relationship 
with the West was recently featured in the WVTF series of radio spots 
highlighting the research accomplishments of Virginia Tech faculty.

Dr. Baehr earned numerous awards and grants for his work. In 1995, he 
received the Albert E. Sturm Award for Excellence in Faculty Research 
from Phi Beta Kappa, Mu Chapter of Virginia. His book The Paradise 
Myth in 18th Century Russia was published in 1991 by Stanford 
University Press. He was completing a second book, tentatively 
entitled The Machine and Its Enemies in Nineteenth and Twentieth 
Century Russian Literature and Culture, with that same press. He 
published more than a dozen articles in refereed journals.

Dr. Baehr received the University Certificate of Teaching Excellence 
for the College of Arts and Science in 1993. He received two 
Fulbright-Hays Research Fellowships to study in Finland and two 
International Research and Exchanges Board Research Fellowships in 
the Soviet Union.

Among his many invited lectures and presentations throughout the 
country were one at Yale and one at Harvard on "Is Moscow Burning: 
Fire in Griboedov's Woe from Wit." He also presented several lectures 
and seminars internationally, most recently at the Academy of 
Sciences of the USSR, Institute of Russian Literature, Leningrad.
One of Dr. Baehr's most significant recent accomplishments was 
serving as editor-in-chief of the Slavic and East European Journal, 
probably the most widely recognized journal in Russian literature 
outside Russia.

His lengthy list of contributions to the department, college, 
university, and his profession included chairing the University 
Library Committee, serving on the screening committee for the 
National Security Education Program, and serving as the campus 
representative to the International Research and Exchanges Board. He 
also worked with the Phi Beta Kappa Encouragement of Scholarship 
Committee and was extremely active in supporting honors students and 
recruiting high-quality students to Virginia Tech, according to 
Judith Shrum, department head. He served as a graduate advisor and 
coordinator of freshman recruiting for several years and also served 
as a faculty mentor of the Black Student Mentor Program for four 
years.

"Dr. Stephen Baehr was first and foremost a gentle man, kind in his 
approach to students, supportive in his mentoring of colleagues," 
Shrum said. "His personal warmth drew students to him, and he 
responded by providing time to talk, by writing many letters of 
recommendation, and by opening doors of influence for them.

"He was a scholar of high repute, honored by Phi Beta Kappa with 
their coveted Sturm Award for Faculty Research Excellence. Scholars 
of Russian culture and literature looked to his interpretations of 
Russian literature as the basis for their work. His absence will be 
palpable in his field of scholarship, among his colleagues around the 
world, and in the Blacksburg university community. His colleagues and 
friends in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures will 
deeply miss his presence, wit, and wisdom."

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