In memoriam: Larry De Lorme, former WWU professor and provost

Dr. Roland L. “Larry” De Lorme, a former Western Washington University administrator and faculty member, died on Sunday, Aug. 1, at the age of 73.

A celebration of Larry’s life will be held in Aberdeen, his hometown, at 2 p.m. Aug. 21 at The Aberdeen Museum of History.

De Lorme held a number of positions at Western. He came to the university and the History Department in 1966. He served as department chair for most of 1971 to 1989 (others were in the position from 1974 to 1975 and from 1980 to 1984). He was the director of general studies in the Office of the Academic Dean, and he held various positions in the Office of the President/Provost, including provost and vice president for academic affairs from 1991 to 1998, except for the six months he spent as acting president between Ken Mortimer and Karen Morse.

De Lorme played a significant role in shaping the university. He started the Archives and Records Management graduate program, a program about which he was especially proud. He even recruited David Duniway, retired state archivist from Oregon, and Paul Kohl, retired commissioner of the National Archives, to teach in the program. He also brought in Bert Rhoads, the former Archivist of the United States. De Lorme also started the Historic Preservation graduate program and the American Cultural Studies program (then known simply as American Studies) at WWU. He helped found the Center for Pacific Northwest Studies, and he assisted in the formation of the Canadian-American Studies program, the Center for Instructional Innovation, and a number of WWU history courses. He also spearheaded the formation of the Inter-Library Loan system at WWU and statewide.

De Lorme was known as a lot of things to his colleagues, including an innovator, a communicator, a strong supporter of diversity and a gourmet cook. But everyone who knew Larry also knew him as a friend.

De Lorme became the History Department’s chair in the middle of a crisis, says George Mariz, a WWU history professor and longtime friend of Larry’s.

“The first crisis he had to face was how to save four positions,” says Mariz, whose faculty position was one of those on the chopping block. “It was a balancing act of epic proportions, but he did it. If it weren’t for Larry, I wouldn’t be here.”

Carolyn Dale, a WWU journalism professor who met De Lorme during his years as chairman of Whatcom County Democrats back in the 1980s, said De Lorme gave up a huge portion of his salary in order to keep the positions.

“He took a pay cut of 30 to 40 percent, and he convinced several other faculty members to do the same,” Dale says.

“He was a very good chair,” Mariz says. “He worked hard for people. He would meet people more than halfway, and he sometimes gave more to others than he got back.”

But that’s the kind of guy Larry was. A relentless giver, a generous friend.

Bev Jones, the current assistant to the provost at WWU, served in the same position during De Lorme’s tenure as provost in the late 1980s and early ‘90s. On one of her birthdays, Larry surprised her with an enormous rose arbor for her backyard. He had made it himself. Later, he built her a small birdhouse that looked just like her own house.

“He was very thoughtful, always a gentleman,” Jones says. “He was welcoming, kind and generous. Passionate about education and his students.”

Carmen Werder, director of WWU’s Teaching-Learning Academy, remembers De Lorme as a staunch student advocate.

“One time a student in summer quarter came looking for help with his writing, and I told him that, unfortunately, the center wasn't open in the summer but that if he felt strongly about it, he could go talk to the provost (then Larry),” Werder says. “Apparently, he did just that because within a week, Larry sent a memo saying he wanted to fund the Writing Center during the summer, and it's been funded ever since.”

In his role as a supporter of students, De Lorme pushed strongly for an increase in the use of technology on campus, says De Lorme’s wife, Marcia. Larry saw computers as a way to increase students’ access to information and to make things such as registration and research much more simple.

“He was truly visionary,” Marcia says.

Larry also was dedicated to diversity, Marcia says.

“He believed passionately in diversity and making sure all students have access to education, and he promoted programs that focused on that goal,” she says.

Larry Estrada, an associate professor at Fairhaven College and director of American Cultural Studies, says De Lorme went out of his way to ensure that the university reached out to everyone.

“Larry valued diversity in all respects,” Estrada says. “One of his biggest concerns was serving the high-potential and underserved populations in Washington state.”

Robert Bussard, who now works in Wilson Library, was a graduate assistant for De Lorme back in the mid-1980s.

“He was an excellent and creative teacher and a very supportive mentor,” Bussard says. “He had a wicked sense of humor and could tell stories that left you weak with laughter.”

Truly, De Lorme was a funny guy. Really funny.

“Larry was one of the world’s greatest punsters, a great storyteller,” says Mariz.

Estrada puts it this way: “Larry approached administration with common sense, humility and humor. One of the things that Larry liked to do was use self-deprecating humor to put people at ease. He used his wit and charm to gain consensus.”

But humor was far from the only skill that made Larry such a great leader.

“He had such rare qualities for leadership,” Dale says. “He had a strong sense of ethics and was able to talk to people in a meaningful way. He had this quiet way of motivating you to do your best work.”

In 1997, De Lorme convinced Dale to oversee the university’s reaccreditation efforts for the 10-year review and site visit. To this day, Dale says with a laugh, she’s not sure how De Lorme convinced her to take on that task.

The best way to describe De Lorme, she adds, is as a humanist. He put people first. Always.

“He cared about everyone at the university as individuals, not as perfunctory cogs in the machine,” says Estrada, who worked under Larry as vice provost for diversity in the early ‘90s. “He realized that an institution is not the mortar and bricks; it’s the people who are part of the institution. By all means, he valued people above everything else.”

Mariz agrees.

“A combination of his strengths and weaknesses as an administrator is that he really worried about people, about the things that cause stress and anxiety in daily life here,” Mariz says. “Larry worked hard just to allow people to work, to do their jobs.”

That quality made De Lorme a great boss, Jones says.

“I loved working with him,” Jones said. “He was always appreciative of the work of the staff. He was a good guy to work with, and a very good friend.”

A memorial fund has been established to honor Larry's years of outstanding service to WWU. Donations may be made via check written to the WWU Foundation with the notation “in honor of Dr. Larry De Lorme.” Please send gifts to: Western Washington University Foundation, 516 High Street, OM 430, Bellingham, WA. 98229. Gifts also may be made electronically at https://www.applyweb.com/public/contribute?wfwwu.

More thoughts about Larry:

"Very sad to hear about Larry De Lorme. He was one one the best and nicest professors I had at Western. When I was a sophomore, he invited the entire Canadian history class over for dinner at his home, and he and his wife prepared a French dinner." -Laurie Rossman Nesheim (WWU class of 1986)