Professor Wackman died May 13, 2024
Remembrance by Marco Yzer, Professor
Dan was a teacher, a colleague, a mentor, and a friend to an extraordinarily large number of people in the Hubbard School and beyond. The news of his passing has led to an outpouring of sympathy and shared memories from so many people who have had the good fortune to learn from Dan at some point in his 45-year tenure at the Hubbard School, which included six years as the School’s director. Reading through the many homages to Dan expressed in emails within the Hubbard School, in posts on various social media, and in text conversations with other people who knew him, I saw a clear theme emerge; regardless of whether we were Dan’s students, graduate advisees, staff colleagues, or faculty colleagues, we felt that he genuinely cared about us as individual persons.
Dan was an accomplished, widely cited scholar on family communication and political communication. Equally important is his scholarly impact through the excellent and prolific work of the students that he has trained, many of whom are now highly influential communication scholars themselves. There is more to impact than academic performance metrics that focus on publications and grants, however. The primary reason for doing research is to find answers to important questions that can make meaningful differences in people’s lives. Dan never lost sight of this. He always maintained a people focus, both in how he approached his research and teaching and particularly in how he engaged with the people around him. Dan expected rigorous work from his students and his colleagues, yet did so with their flourishing and well-being as his ultimate goal.
My own experiences are very similar. I moved into the office next to Dan’s in January of 2004 and we were office neighbors for the next 12 years until Dan’s retirement. During those years I came to know Dan as a truly authentic, what-you-see-is-what-you-get person. This meant that with Dan you knew exactly where you stood. He often would treat policies as friendly suggestions rather than rules of law, which was refreshing and often wildly entertaining during faculty meetings and thesis and dissertation defenses. His authenticity also meant that when he said he cared about you, he meant it. Dan’s kindness and concern for others is what stands out most to me as his most meaningful and lasting impact. His door was always open when I needed a sounding board. I hope he knew how critically important his empathy was for helping me get through difficult times in my life.
Many people can talk, but few can truly listen. Dan listened. He could launch into a long narrative on his latest round of golf, but while he was at it he would look at you and gauge how you were doing. During faculty meetings he made sure we thanked those who deserved to be thanked. He was a role model when it comes to making job candidates feel welcome during job talks.
I leave you with reflections from three of Dan’s former students and colleagues who generously shared their memories of working with him: Dhavan Shah (Ph.D. ’99, advisor Dan Wackman), who is the Jack M. McLeod Professor of Communication Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison; Jiyoung Han (Ph.D. ’15, advisor Dan Wackman), who is Ewon Assistant Professor at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology; and Gayle (G.G.) Golden (faculty colleague of Dan Wackman from 1998 until Dan’s retirement), who is a Senior Lecturer and Charnley Professor at the University of Minnesota.
Dhavan Shah wrote: “Dan was caring, charming, and demanding in equal measures—the perfect academic parent. Always thoughtful and incisive, using every meeting as an opportunity to teach, coach, mentor, or otherwise impart wisdom, often through a personal story about his family or some hard-learned life lesson. He was a role model of devotion to his students, dedication to careful research, and an abiding love for his wife, kids, and grandkids—and how to do all three tirelessly.”
Jiyoung Han similarly wrote: “I was initially intimidated by Dr. Wackman. He had a penetrating gaze that seemed to see through me. However, as our meetings continued over time, I became more familiar with his warm smile. Although he often said a blunt ‘no,’ it was never the end of the road. He taught me how to fix the problem, or at the very least provided a clear sense of what needed to be corrected. Dr. Wackman was the person I wanted to share my progress with, so I worked hard to achieve it.”
Golden expressed how fortunate we are to have learned lessons from Dan that have lifelong impact: “One of Dan’s big legacies involved the time and care he gave to the people he worked with. This included students, staff and faculty—no matter the rank of those people. In my earliest years at the school, when I was a newly hired instructional faculty, he and I worked together closely to develop the course profiles we still rely on to organize our curriculum. During that process, he treated me with deep respect as a colleague. It helped instill in me a confidence that I could make important and lasting contributions to the School. I know others were moved by his kindness and belief in them. This memory of him reminds me that achievements come and go, but what endures is how we treat others. Dan really lived by that principle.”
Dan Wackman will be terribly missed but is fondly remembered.