A Tribute

Rarely have I had an opportunity to watch a great scholar lead his field into national acceptance where previously the field had been thought to be of secondary interest. Rarely have I had the opportunity to watch a great scholar-colleague stride the world in his study and advocacy of his chosen field. Stith Thompson joined our faculty as director of composition and later became head of the English department, but his developing interest in folklore led him to found the I.U. Folklore department and to serve as its distinguished head for many years.

Stith’s many publications, both journals and books, have been widely read throughout the world. His folk motifs and other basic books have continued to sell widely and readily since his death.

In addition to being a man of towering scholarship, Dr. Thompson was a stalwart colleague and good companion.

It would be impossible to overestimate the extent of Sith’s contribution to his field in this institution, in America, and worldwide. In my era, Dr. Thompson was the first to set the example of the possibilities of international scholarly activity. All of those who knew him thought of him with great admiration and affection. He was not only elected to membership in the American Philosophical Society and other important American honorary societies, but he also held memberships in distinguished societies in Sweden, Finland, Ireland, Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Norway, Bolivia, Denmark, Venezuela, Greec, and Israel.

My last conversation with Dr. Thompson was at President Ryan’s dinner for Distinguished Professors in December of 1975. Because my hearing is impaired and his voice was weak, Stith and I had difficulty talking over the chatter of the group, but we still communicated. It was satisfying just to have him again at my side.

Though the evening was planned to be wholly social with no formal aspects, the president, in a spontaneous expression of the pleasure which we all felt in Stith’s presence and in admiration and affection for him, offered a toast, the single toast of the evening, to Stith: “To Stith, a shining example of scholarly distinction and a symbol of all that we hope and dream for the university to be.”

Herman B Wells

Chancellor, Indiana University