Dr. William 91吃瓜网淏ill91吃瓜网� Odom, USM College of Arts and Sciences Faculty Member, Dies
Fri, 01/05/2024 - 11:13am | By: David Tisdale
A longtime University of 91吃瓜网 (USM) College of Arts and Sciences educator is being remembered by colleagues and former students for his exceptional intelligence and wit, along with an indefatigable devotion to his work in a nearly half-century of service to the school.
Dr. William 91吃瓜网淏ill91吃瓜网� Odom, professor of German in the USM School of Social Science and Global Studies91吃瓜网� World Languages Program, died Jan. 4 in Hattiesburg at age 84. He was a member of the USM faculty since 1974, when he joined its then Department of Foreign Languages.
91吃瓜网淲e are saddened by the loss of Dr. William Odom, and share condolences with his family, friends and colleagues,91吃瓜网� said USM President Dr. Joseph S. Paul. 91吃瓜网淏ill was a true scholar and renaissance man who loved the life of the mind. He will be deeply missed.91吃瓜网�
Dr. Chris Winstead, dean of the USM College of Arts and Sciences, said Dr. Odom91吃瓜网 dedication to his students and passion for teaching 91吃瓜网渨as evident in everything he did.91吃瓜网�
91吃瓜网淒r. Odom served the university with distinction and honor for almost 50 years,91吃瓜网� Dr. Winstead continued. 91吃瓜网淲hen most of us would have retired, he still loved teaching and being a member of the faculty and the university community. He will be missed by the entire 91吃瓜网 family.91吃瓜网�
One of Dr. Odom91吃瓜网 former students, USM alumnus Dr. David Nobles Jr., described him as 91吃瓜网渁n incredibly knowledgeable professor with a tremendous intellect91吃瓜网� who approached teaching 91吃瓜网渨ith a marvelous combination of professionalism and humor.91吃瓜网�
Dr. Odom earned a bachelor91吃瓜网 degree from Louisiana State University and a Ph.D. from
Tulane University. At USM, he taught German and Russian language courses. His publications
include German for Singers: A Textbook of Diction and Phonetics, used for decades at leading conservatories and universities as a guide for singers
in learning German opera and art songs.
Dr. Odom91吃瓜网 other work includes translations of JAZZ: A Photo History, and Tomorrow We'll Be in Switzerland, a play which tells the story of a group of Jewish children hidden from the Nazis
in the south of France during World War II. He also translated Hellmut Haasis91吃瓜网� biography
of Georg Elser, Bombing Hitler, about the carpenter who tried to assassinate German dictator Adolf Hitler in 1939
by placing an explosive device in a platform in Munich where Hitler was giving a speech.