The late Donald E. Hayden’s affiliation with The University of Tulsa lasted nearly as long as his love affair with the subject he taught: English literature.

Joining the English Department in 1947, Hayden spent nearly four decades at TU and served in a number of roles including professor, department chair, dean of the College of Liberal Arts (now the Henry Kendall College of Arts and Sciences), and director of the Graduate Program in English, which he was instrumental in founding.

He was first and foremost a teacher and a scholar and returned to the classroom in 1970 after 14 years of service as dean, spending the final years of his tenure at The University of Tulsa doing what he enjoyed most – sharing his affinity for the well-turned phrase.

Hayden began his career as a doctoral student and faculty member at Syracuse University, where he earned a doctorate in English literature (he holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English literature from the University of Missouri at Columbia). He went on to serve as head of the English Department at Westbrook Junior College in Portland, Maine, from 1942 until 1947.

He is author and/or editor of numerous books, including After Conflict; Quiet: A Study of Wordsworth; Classics in Semantics; His Firm Estate; and The Creative Process: Introspection, as well as a number of monographs on William Wordsworth, including Wordsworth’s Travels in England. He was honored as Mr. Homecoming at TU in 1980 for his many contributions and subsequently was named professor emeritus in 1985 upon his retirement.

Honoring his fondness for both TU and literature, Hayden generously provided the foundation for a permanent endowment formally known as the Donald E. Hayden Endowed Fund for the Graduate Program in English. Dr. Hayden passed away in 2013.