On May 5, 2007, the NEIU community suffered the loss of veteran member of the Board of Trustees and former Chair of the Speech and Performing Arts Department [now the Communication and Theater Department], Professor James Barushok who suffered a heart attack.
Barushok was born February 26, 1929. Professor Barushok was a thirty year member of the NEIU Faculty. For fifteen years, Barushok was chairperson of the Department of Speech and Performing Arts. During his administration, Barushok was active in the conception of the department’s graduate program. In doing so, Barushok served as the Department of Speech and Performing Arts’ Director of graduate studies.
Current Communication and Theater Chair Harold Hild remembered Barushok as a mentor from the time they worked together in the department calling him a mentor. “He had a lot of wisdom he willingly shared with colleagues and students,” said Hild “He got me in to the department from the English Department, he was a good colleague and was a lot of fun because of his theater background.”
In addition to being a commendable resource to Northeastern Illinois University, Barushok was active in theatre arts. The professor founded two theatre programs, directed over fifty theatrical productions, and engaged in theatrical performing arts. Barushok is noted as being an ‘invaluable member’ to NEIU and through his passing he is revered by students and contemporaries. Hild said that his “institutional memory” brought perspective.
Professor Barushok has a long history of service with Northeastern Illinois University. Barushok held many roles within the University’s structure which included being a University Advisor and serving as president of the University Senate. Professor Barushok possessed a certain passion for the love of his work and NEIU. In addition to, genuinely epitomizing his craft, Professor Barushok is possessed an eagerness to serve the NEIU community.
University President Sharon Hahs reflected on Barushok’s passing, “I got to know him reasonably well in a short period of time,” Hahs went on to say that he was a good scholar and that she enjoyed his company.
His wife Fern, three children, and grandchildren survive James Barushok. Hild said that Barushok was, “Always talking about his grandkids, he used to take them to a dude ranch in Arizona, the kids used to love that.”
Instead of flowers being sent to the family, it was asked donations be made to the General Scholarship Fund of Northeastern Illinois University. On Saturday, June 2, 2007, Professor Barushok will be remembered with a memorial service in Golden Eagles at 4:00pm.
Tom Robb contributed to this report.