James Schell Hearst, Emeritus Professor at UNI, died Wednesday morning, July 27, 1983, at his home following a lengthy illness. Hearst taught at UNI from 1941 through 1975. He was granted the first honorary Doctor of Letters degree to be given at UNI in 1975. At that time President Kamerick said of him, "Mr. Hearst has brought more honor and prestige to the University than the University can ever bestow upon him."
James Hearst was born August 8, 1900, in Black Hawk County. The Hearst name has been associated with this institution for more than a century beginning with James' aunt who was secretary to an early president. Hearst attended the Campus High School, then located in Sabin Hall. He also attended the Iowa State Teachers College for two years before enlisting in the Army during World War I.
During a long and distinguished life, James Hearst was a farmer, teacher, and poet who came to be known and respected throughout the country. His thirteen volumes of poetry and two autobiographical works have won him praise and honors on both the state and national level, and recently he has gained attention abroad for his poetic mastering of the Midwest American speech and life in more than six hundred published poems.
There will be no formal ceremonies marking Hearst's death. The family requests that any memorial contributions be made to the James Hearst Scholarship Fund, College of Humanities and Fine Arts, UNI.
Robert J. Ward