Stephen Haycox, an Alaska historian and writer who taught on the College of Alaska Anchorage for greater than 40 years, died Friday at age 85.
Haycox was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He acquired an undergraduate diploma from Seattle College and earned his Ph.D. from the College of Oregon. He was additionally a Navy veteran.
He was together with his spouse, Dagmar Phillips, when he died in Seattle, in line with a household good friend.
At UAA, Haycox in essence launched the historical past program whereas the college was nonetheless often known as Anchorage Senior Faculty, creating it over the course of 4 a long time. He was prolific as an writer of books in addition to scholarly {and professional} articles and newspaper columns. In retirement, he was named distinguished professor emeritus of historical past at UAA.
“He was Alaska’s main historian,” stated Jim Muller, a former colleague who’s now professor emeritus at UAA’s political science division. “He printed half a dozen books and lots of articles on Alaska historical past, that are learn by individuals each right here in Alaska, across the nation and elsewhere.”
He additionally served as director of the forty ninth State Fellows Program in UAA’s College Honors Faculty, a program he based with Muller.
This system included programs in political science, historical past and economics, in addition to tutorials, lectures, area journeys and seminars. A big a part of this system was pushed by debate and discourse concerning the points college students have been finding out.
“Steve and I had numerous variations on politics, and the scholars obtained to listen to two sides or extra of many various issues we have been occupied with,” Muller stated. “Steve was very open-minded and keen to hearken to anyone’s argument, if it was any good.”
Former colleague Steve Johnson, who directed the UAA debate program, additionally leaned on Haycox’s penchant for energetic dialogue.
Johnson used Haycox as a sounding board for potential subjects and contributors for public debates the college hosted.
“We all the time tried to stay to points that have been of significance to Alaskans and well timed by way of issues that Alaskans would or must be occupied with,” Johnson stated. “His enter there was very helpful.”
Haycox retired from instructing full time on the college by the point Ian Hartman arrived as a professor within the faculty’s historical past division in 2011. However Haycox rapidly turned a good friend and mentor to Hartman.
“I feel Steve might be essentially the most prolific and vital historian that Alaska has ever had, at the least by way of the type of nature of his scholarship,” Hartman stated.
Among the many factors of emphasis in Haycox’s scholarship was Alaska’s relationship with the federal authorities. That typically uneasy affiliation was detailed in his 2016 e book “Battleground Alaska: Combating Federal Energy in America’s Final Wilderness.”
“He was actually good at demonstrating the a number of methods wherein that type of performed out, from public lands to tourism, recreation to deeper buildings of governance,” Hartman stated. “It was sort of a type of through-lines in his profession.”
Haycox was a regular contributor to the opinion pages of the Anchorage Every day Information, relationship again a long time and persevering with till final month.
Longtime ADN editor David Hulen retired in March however has continued modifying opinion content material in current months.
“In a spot with so many individuals who got here from different locations, his views on Alaska historical past have been useful in a platform just like the ADN,” Hulen stated. “He helped us perceive the place we stay. Alaska’s additionally a spot, like a lot of the American West, crammed with mythology. His items typically turned these myths on their ears. He confirmed Alaska historical past is simply extra nuanced and complicated.”
Alaska at instances is considered as a comparatively younger place, granted statehood in 1959. However Johnson stated Haycox was fast to carry context to what appeared like novel occasions to Alaskans.
“His depth and breadth of information with regard to historic occasions and the human story all the time lent insights into the types of issues that Alaskans felt like they have been dealing with for the primary time,” Johnson stated.
Haycox was a musician — a horn participant throughout his time within the Navy. He loved touring, each after retirement and through his time at UAA. He and Muller took college students from the forty ninth State Fellows Program on common journeys, each historic journeys to the East Coast and visits abroad.
Haycox gained the Alaska Governor’s Award for Distinguished Service to the Humanities and the College of Alaska’s Bullock Prize. In April, he acquired UAA’s Meritorious Service Award. He was named the Alaska Historic Society‘s Historian of the 12 months in 2003 and was a former president of the Alaska Historic Society and the Cook dinner Inlet Historic Society.
