In Memoriam: Richard Hayes Wilson

By Robert H. Margolis, PhD

Richard H. Wilson, PhD, audiological scientist, teacher, program director, and cherished colleague, passed away October 7. Richard’s footprint on the field of audiology is enormous. His impact on our profession stemmed from a deep commitment to science, teaching, collaboration, and advancements that never waned even after his retirement. His many scientific publications have a common theme—to make clinical and research audiology better.

Richard was born and raised in Bristol, Virginia, and his southern roots never faded even after 21 years in California and 12 years in Arizona. He earned degrees at East Tennessee State University (B.S. 1964), Vanderbilt University (M.S. 1965), and Northwestern University (Ph.D. 1970) where he studied with the “Father of Audiology”, Raymond Carhart. After a brief period at UCLA School of Medicine, Richard joined the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs as chief of the audiology section at the VA Medical Center in Long Beach, California. During that period, he held a faculty appointment in the Division of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery at the University of California, Irvine. In 1992 he was called by his southern roots to direct the Audiology and Speech Pathology Service at the James H. Quillan VA Medical Center in Johnson City, Tennessee, where he had a faculty appointment at his alma mater, East Tennessee State University. In 2013 he retired from the VA and moved to Arizona State University with wife and colleague Nancy Scherer. Richard held an adjunct appointment at ASU until his passing.

Richard’s publications include 165 book chapters and research articles and five articles in process at the time of his passing. Richard is the sole author of almost none of them and first author of most of them. He had dozens of colleagues on research articles and tutorial writings. Collaborating on publications was a teaching mission. He was committed to helping students and colleagues develop writing skills and insisted on high standards in writing.

Richard’s service to his profession included many VA and NIH grant reviews, committee assignments at two universities, VA central office committees, and journal editorships. His teaching commitment is evident in his service on 16 master’s thesis committees and 16 PhD committees. He reviewed manuscripts for eight research journals.

Richard loved to travel and combined travel with his career. Beginning in 1981 he spent parts of three summers at the University of Antwerp where a team of research physicists took on the challenge of understanding tympanometry. That experience created lifelong friendships. He travelled to many countries, always learning about our profession .

The Department of Veterans Affairs offered what Richard loved best—research. He was principal investigator or co-principal investigator on 38 VA research grants. These grants provided educational opportunities for dozens of students and colleagues. He received awards from the Association of VA Audiologists, ASHA, AAA, East Tennessee State University, and Vanderbilt University,

Richard Wilson left an indelible mark on our profession and touched the lives of many students and colleagues. Those of us who worked with him and knew him well will always cherish his friendship.