On the ground floor of the Old Horticulture building lies an office, stacked to the ceiling with books that for the time being will remain unopened. The lyrics to Bob Dylan's "Forever Young" hang on the wall and a famous leather chair sits in the corner without a bright student asking for career advice. The history professor's office is tucked away, unoccupied by the man History Department chair Walter Hawthorne called the heart and soul of the history department.
History professor David Bailey died late on Nov. 7 of late-stage colon cancer. He had been in the hospital for only nine days, but he had been at MSU for nearly 40 years.
"He's someone who knew an awful lot about an awful lot," Hawthorne said.
Bailey was born in Toronto and grew up in Buffalo, N.Y., where his mother still lives. After studying for his bachelor's degree at the State University of New York, Buffalo, he earned a master's degree and a doctorate from the University of California, Berkeley.
"Personally, Dad was a very giving person," his daughter Liz Bailey said. "He really cared about supporting everybody from down to remembering their birthdays but also picking people up at the airport, getting a little gift for their kids. When young faculty was hired (he made sure) they were supported in all aspects."
Both former students and members of the history department have said he became a mentor to his students and was a captivating lecturer who was able to make students care about whatever topic he was lecturing on.
"He really took a lot of students under his wing and mentored them to help them develop their academic interests," his daughter Jeanne said. "I've heard a lot of students recently that they've gotten into academia because of Dad, which is pretty cool."
When he was in the hospital, a number of students wrote cards to him and Hawthorne said he appreciated his daughters reading them to him.
He came to MSU in 1979 after his wife, Mary Cookingham, was hired into the Department of Economics. Bailey was a spousal hire, and he became a strong advocate for the practice. After she died of Multiple Sclerosis in 2001, he became involved in trying to make the profession of history more digital, spearheading the Lab for the Education and Advancement in Digital Research, or LEADR, a digital lab in the Old Horticulture Building he often taught classes in.
He was a prolific writer, having written a number of unpublished novels, and was an avid collector of books. Jeanne said whenever the family went on vacation he would stop at every used book store he could find and his office has them arrayed out everywhere, even more in his house, but he knew exactly where everything was.
"The books appear completely disorganized, but he knows where everything is and he has them all arranged in his own way and actually had read them all, which accounts for probably (why) he was such a fantastic lecturer and had this incredible recall," Hawthorne said.
Liz said he liked to explore ideas and talk about issues, and colleagues noted his breadth of knowledge. A scholarship is being set up in his honor, called the David T. Bailey Undergraduate Scholarship Fund, to help disadvantaged history majors at MSU.
"His colleagues described him as one of the last great intellectuals," Liz said.
A memorial service is planned for Dec. 5 at 2 p.m. in the Alumni Chapel.
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