Tom Bitterwolf papers, 1969-1992

Prof. Thomas Edwin Bitterwolf, PhD (1947-2019), Department of Chemistry, University of Idaho, taught at the University from August 1988 until January 2019. Among the subjects he taught were Freshman Chemistry CHEM111, CHEM112, HCHEM111, HCHEM 112, Upper Level Inorganic Chemistry courses, and a specialized course on current Energy Issues. He was the first person to serve as director of the Excellence in Education Teaching, and served one year as the Associate Dean of the College of Arts an Sciences. He earned numerous awards for Teaching Excellence and Excellence in Education and was was honored by being chosen for the Silver and Gold Award. He had many graduate students in chemistry and ran a very active undergraduate research program in his personal laboratory. He established the Thomas Edwin and Caroline Means Bitterwolf Renaissance Fund at the University of Idaho Foundation to support Undergraduate Research and the special programs of the Chemistry Department, and that fund continues to grow at this time. He was well loved respected by his students and peers, and died unexpectedly in his Chemistry Office and Laboratory in Renfrew Hall on January 30, 2019.

Prof. Bitterwolf completed his Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from Centenary College of Louisiana, Shreveport, LA, and his Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry from the University of West Virginia., Morgantown, WV. After serving as a Naval Officer in the United States Navy as an Instructor a the Naval Nuclear Power School, US Naval Training Center, Bainbridge Maryland, and Orlando, FL, he was invited to teach Chemistry at the United Stated Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD, as both a Naval Officer and later Professor. He served twenty-three years of active and reserve duty in the US Navy and retired at the rank of Commander before accepting a position at the University of Idaho, Moscow, ID. He was an active member of the American Chemical Society, Royal Chemistry Society of Britain, a Fellow of American Association for the Advancement of Science, completed two sabbaticals at the University of Padova, Padova Italy, and chaired review panels for several professional journals in the areas of he Organometallic and Inorganic Chemistry.

Prof. Bitterwolf served on Chemistry Curriculum Development Committees for both Moscow School District 281 and the Idaho State Board of Education. He was recognized for his professional contributions by being named to Marquis Who's Who in America. He was an active member of the Moscow Rotary Club and was a Rotary International Paul Harris Fellow. Never a Cub Scout or Boy Scout, Prof. Bitterwolf became an active Boy Scout Leader for Moscow Troop 344 and participated on several Inland Northwest Council of Boy Scouts committees, Directed the Council's Wood Badge Leadership Training Program, and was named a recipient of the coveted Silver Beaver Award, the highest award provided to civilians by the Boy Scouts, shortly before his death. He was also a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon Fraternity and the Methodist Church. Prof. Bitterwolf authored or coauthored 156 professional papers.

Prof. Bitterwolf wrote several children's stories and was a voracious reader, enjoyed opera and drama, liked numerous kinds of music from zydeco, to Bach, Beethoven, and Wagner, and claimed that the he was most talented in playing the instrument called a stereo. He was also an outstanding cook and was known for his Italian taste and famous chocolate chip cookies. He was married to Caroline Means Bitterwolf, PhD, University of Idaho, for over fifty years, and they had two daughters, Heidi Elizabeth Bitterwolf and Katharine Naomi Bitterwolf Hyde, both of whom are also Idaho graduates.