Archives West Finding Aid

Weldon B. "Hoot" Gibson (1917-2001) was raised in El Dorado, Texas. He was encouraged to attend Washington State College (today Washington State University) by his uncle, WSU baseball coach Arthur "Buck" Bailey. While at WSC, Gibson played on the university football team, was in the ROTC, as well as a member of the Crimson Circle and Beta Theta Pi. He received his B.A. in Business Administration in 1938 before going on to Stanford University, earning an M.B.A. and Ph.D. in International Economics, in 1940 and 1950 respectively. During World War II, Gibson served in the United States Airforce and attained the rank of Colonel, also becoming the Assistant Director of the U.S. Air Force Institute of Technology in Dayton, Ohio. Gibson was awarded the U.S. Medal of the Legion of Merit in 1946 and the Order of Commander of the British Empire in 1947. After returning to Stanford, he helped establish and expand the Stanford Institute of International Business (today the Stanford Research Institute, or SRI). He also co-founded the Pacific Basin Economic Council and co-founded the International Industrial Development Conference. Dr. Gibson authored several publications on economic geography and international business, as well as the biography "Buck Bailey: The Making of a Legend" (WSU Press, 1989). Returning to WSU to serve as the founding chairman of the WSU Foundation, he then dedicated himself to fundraising endeavors for WSU and encouraged the advancement of the institution on an international level. The WSU Foundation annually awards the Weldon B. Gibson Distinguished Volunteer Award in honor of Dr. Gibson and his wife Helen Mears Gibson's service to the university.