Dr. Dean Boldon, longtime Maryville College faculty member and academic dean, dies at 79
April 24, 2024
Dr. Dean A. Boldon, whose 12-year tenure as academic dean of Maryville College has been described as “one of the two most distinguished in the 20th century,” has died in St. Petersburg, Florida. He was 79.
Boldon, a sociologist who joined the MC faculty in 1979 after leaving Tehran, Iran, in the wake of that country’s revolution, is credited with numerous academic advancements, especially during his service as dean of the faculty and chief academic officer, a position he held from 1986 to 1998. During that time, he oversaw the College’s inclusion in the Appalachian College Association, paved the way for the development of the Bonner Scholars Program, doubled enrollment in the Division of Education, invested heavily in international programming and Study Abroad opportunities, and helped establish dozens of new majors, including Biochemistry, International Business, Environmental Studies, Theatre Studies and more.
Boldon chose to return to the classroom in 1998, a move he described as “stepping up” — his “Indigenous Peoples,” “Cultural Anthropology” and “Middle Eastern Studies” courses attracted enthusiastic learners from across the campus, not just Sociology majors. In addition, his upper-level “Social Theory” course gave him the opportunity to showcase his gift for taking a mass of related information and tying it together with cohesion and nuanced perspective.
That same year, the Maryville College Board of Directors established the Dean A. Boldon Fund for International Travel by Faculty.
“Dean was the dean who hired me, and I think of him at least once a week in one or another connection,” said Dr. Dan Klingensmith, vice president and dean of the College who will himself return to the classroom after the conclusion of the 2023-24 academic year. “He set the standard for his successors, and 26 years after he went back to the faculty, the job still bears his imprint. I know him now as a predecessor, but in my faculty role, I worked with him during my first decade here and his last. He was a supportive colleague who deeply believed in what we do. The academic innovations he created here are still with us.”
Born in Indianapolis, Boldon earned his bachelor’s degree from Hanover College, a master of divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary, and a Ph.D. from Vanderbilt University. His introduction to Maryville College took place after he and his wife, Mary, moved to Tehran in 1969 after completing his doctorate; there, he taught at the city’s Community School (and later at Damavand College) and got to know Joy Hayes ’52, an Elementary Education alumna, who introduced him to a number of expatriate Scots living in Iran. After the country was taken over by the Islamic Revolutionary Government in 1979, the Boldons returned to the United States, and Boldon found a position on the faculty of the Maryville College Division of Social Sciences.
“Dean was so impressive, so competent, so revered (and possibly so afraid to say ‘no’), that he was asked to chair the department the next year,” Dan Ellis ’60 recalled when presenting Boldon with the Maryville College Medallion, the highest award given by the College, during the 2007 Founder’s Day ceremony.
He led the division until 1986, serving on numerous councils and committees and earning several honors, including the ALCOA Foundation Faculty Merit Award and an Andrew Mellon Foundation Grant for Research. In 1984, he was named runner-up for the Outstanding Teacher Award, presented annually to faculty members selected by members of the junior and senior class. A year later, he won the award outright, repeating it 21 years later when he was again named Outstanding Teacher of the Year in 2006.
In 1986, he was named acting academic vice president and dean of the faculty by President Wayne Anderson, the College’s eighth president, and a year later, Anderson’s successor, Dr. Richard Ferrin, made the appointment permanent, and for 12 years, Boldon helped transform Maryville College in ways that continue to resonate, Ellis told Founder’s Day attendees in 2007.
“[Then-Dean] Dr. Robert Naylor has predicted that when the next history of the College is written, Dean Boldon’s 12-year deanship will be regarded as one of the two most distinguished of the 20th century,” Ells said. “The other, he suggests, is that of Dr. Edwin Hunter, who served from 1935 until 1957. They shared two similar, important passions, Dr. Naylor believes: Strengthening the curriculum and strengthening the faculty.”
As a sociology professor from 1998 until his retirement in 2007, he continued his contributions to Maryville College’s culture and reputation, primarily through the planning and execution of travel-study trips for students and colleagues to countries such as Turkey, Italy, Malta, Sicily, Morocco and more. In 2021, Dean and wife, Mary, made a generous donation to establish the “Scots in the Smokies” experience that is designed to encourage MC sophomores to visit the mountains and develop an appreciation for the biodiversity and history of Appalachia. Mary survives her husband.
A memorial service on campus for Dr. Boldon is planned for this summer. The Maryville College Office of Marketing & Communications will publicize details as they are shared.
