07/23/2018
CSCA ... Passing of Edward J. Pappas
Passing of Edward J. Pappas
It is with great sadness that we report the passing of Professor Edward J. Pappas. Ed was a long time communication faculty member and administrator at Wayne State University.
Ed joined WSU in December 1963 after distinguished service as teacher and debate coach at Detroit’s Pershing High School. He served as department chair from 1973-1990. He then joined the faculty as a full-time professor until he retired as professor emeritus on October 1, 2001, having served as a professor for over 30 years. He continued to teach part time from 2002 through 2017. Ed’s specialty was communication education. He was a master teacher and he took the basic course to a new level. Ed also lectured broadly on baseball history -- especially his beloved Detroit Tigers -- to various public and academic audiences at WSU and elsewhere. Ed co-authored They Tasted Glory: Among the Missing at the Baseball Hall of Fame (1998) with professor Wil A. Linkugel of the University of Kansas.
Ed served as President of the Michigan Speech Association (later Michigan Association of Speech Communication) in 1973-74, and President of the Central States Communication Association in 1985-86.
A scholarship fund has been established and donations may be made to Wayne State University for the Eunice and Edward J. Pappas Endowed Scholarship for Excellence in Communication. Please mail donations to Wayne State University Gift Processing, Academic/Administration Building, 5700 Cass Ave., Suite 1200, Detroit, MI 48202 or by visiting www.giving.wayne.edu/donate. A campus memorial service will take place in the Fall.
Dr. Wilkins, immediate past department chair noted "Ed's intellectual leadership inspired generations of students as he guided the department for 20 years. He continued to teach in retirement and his encouragement and support of the department and its faculty will be deeply missed.”
Ed Pappas had a profoundly positive impact on all those around him. His personal warmth and gregarious spirit was infectious. His long association and commitment and service to the communication field was distinguished. Both colleagues and students were enriched by their interaction with Edward J. Pappas.
*We kindly acknowledge Matt Seeger for writing this obituary.