Dr. W. David Baird, Seaver College Dean Emeritus and Howard A. White Professor Emeritus of History at Pepperdine University, died on November 15, 2024. 

Dr. Baird's involvement with the WHA began in the 1970s, when he served as a commentator on a panel at the 16th Annual Conference in Denver. He was actively involved in the organization for several decades, lending his time to a number of WHA committees, presenting his work at conferences, and publishing articles in the Western Historical Quarterly. A past WHA President (1989), and member of the WHQ Board of Editors (1980-82), Dr. Baird's passing is a devastating loss for our organization. 

Please read below a message written by one of Dr. Baird's mentees, Patti Loughlin. Pepperdine University also posted a memorial article that covers Dr. Baird's long career.

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With deep sadness and a heavy heart I write to let you know that distinguished historian Dr. W. David Baird, University of Oklahoma alumnus, former Oklahoma Historical Society board member, and Seaver College Dean Emeritus and Howard A. White Professor Emeritus of History at Pepperdine University, passed away on Friday, November 15, 2024.

David was a mentor to me at Pepperdine and introduced me to the fields of western history, Native history, and Oklahoma history.

Born in Edmond, Oklahoma, Baird received the A.A. degree from George Washington University in 1959, the B.A. in history and geography from the University of Central Oklahoma in 1961, the M.A. in history and geography from the University of Oklahoma in 1965, and the Ph.D. in history and geography from the University of Oklahoma in 1969.

Baird held appointments on the history faculty at the University of Arkansas (1968-1978) and Oklahoma State University (1978-1988) before joining the faculty at Seaver College, Pepperdine University, as the Howard A. White Professor of History in 1988. He became Dean of Seaver College in 1998, a position he held until 2008.

Baird’s scholarly record includes fourteen books, most recently The Quest for Distinction: Pepperdine University in the Twentieth Century (2016) and Churches of Christ in Oklahoma: A History (2020). Baird’s publications in American Indian history include Peter Pitchlynn: Chief of the Choctaws (1972) and The Quapaw Indians: A History of the Downstream People (1980). Baird’s contributions to Oklahoma history include The Story of Oklahoma (1994, 2007, 2020), an award-winning textbook for junior high and high school students, and Oklahoma: A History (2008), for general readers, both coauthored by Danney Goble.

Baird has served as executive director of the American Historical Association, Pacific Coast Branch (1996-2004), president of the Western History Association (1988-1989), and international president of Phi Alpha Theta (1989-91). When David Baird retired as dean of Seaver College, Pepperdine University created the W. David Baird Distinguished Lecture Series in his honor.

No public funeral services are planned at this time.