Sid Bacon

Sid showed up on my door when I was working on my dissertation at the University of Kansas. He was a senior, and explained that he thought he was interested in hearing research and wanted to find out more about it. He volunteered to be a subject for me and for  the rest of the crew who were in dissertation mode (including Marjorie Leek), and to help us however he could. What an offer! We took him up on it.

Marjorie Leek and I were particularly impressed with young Sid. I arranged for him to come for a brief stint at Boys Town to do some work with Walt Jesteadt on his master’s thesis, and Marjorie and I talked to him about the perceived advantages and disadvantages of various doctoral programs (his working with Neal Viemeister was everyone’s first choice for him). Marjorie and I called him our Little Brother. Once he was in his doctoral program, he no longer needed our guidance, but he always remained a friend, and will always be our “Little Brother.” We have been so proud of him, every step of the way.

My second strong memory is even more about the kind of person Dr. Bacon was. As I mentioned at the time, I was a single mom. During our time with me running this experiment as well as my time on the board for our Chapter NSSHLA, I remember Dr. Bacon mentioning that at dinner in his house every night or maybe week that the entire family would read 1 article and then as a family at the dinner table you would sit and discuss it. I loved the idea & stole it!!! He said it not only helped to engage the kids in the events of the world but it helped to keep the dinner conversation fresh and help create common ground. Although when I initiated it my dinner table was myself and my 3 year old so, often we would read a Dr. Seuss book or something small and chat about that book or the most recent chapter. As my table grew to a new husband and a total of three kids (now 15, 8 & 7) we started to bring forth different topics --- maybe a book, maybe a current event, or an article and we chat about it. In hinesight for Dr. Bacon it was just one small story in passing but for me it painted a clear representation of an idea that could help me incorporate into my own family.

I was a student at ASU from the Fall of 99 to the Winter of 2001, & a single mom at that. One of those --- "I'm on the 10 year plan students" --- I met Sid (seems strange to call him that so I may have to refer to him as Dr. Bacon moving forward) like most in Psychoacoustics and was absolutely sold on audiology. In 2001, I did some independent study with Dr. Bacon. He set up a small experiment for me over the semester that included me recruiting 4 people to listen to various tones for about 16 hours eachl (not all at once fortunately for all of us) The goal being to find out how close two frequencies could be before you could no longer differentiate between the two sounds. Now, here comes the great memory.... On our first meeting to discuss the intent of the research, Dr. Bacon provided me with multiple white papers to read so that I could get a feel for the experiment ---- the white paper on the top of the pile (which by the way was about 2" thick was in German. I looked at him and said --- "you know I did take German in High School but I'm not sure that will be sufficient to read this"... He laughed out loud and then kindly showed me that for this one all I needed to do was "look at the pictures" --- I'm not sure why that stuck with me all these years but I think in part it was because to this day is a great reminder to always look outside of the box --- don't let anything limit you --- especially not German LOL!

When I was a student in the Speech and Hearing Science Department, I had the privilege of taking Psychoacoustics from Dr. Bacon. He was an excellent teacher and his teaching reflected his character - he was very encouraging and provided every opportunity for students to be successful, even when it meant a lot of extra work for him.  One of the things I recall about his class was that when he assigned a paper, he offered the opportunity to turn in the paper early so he could provide feedback and the student could use his feedback to improve his or her paper.

However, my most vivid memory from the semester I took Psychoacoustics was how Dr.Bacon responded when I lost a dear friend to cancer. My friend's death affected me physically, emotionally, and cognitively...and I was a wreck. I remember going in to Dr. Bacon's office to talk with him about what a struggle I was having.  I will never forget how kind and compassionate he was, and how willing he was to give me some extra time to complete assignments, given the circumstances.  Although Dr. Bacon was an outstanding researcher and professor whose accomplishments were many, it was his encouragement, kindness and compassion that I will remember most.

– Leah Jones

When you left the dean's office it was very hard to pack your things and see you leave.  That last afternoon in the dean's office when it was time to part, I told you that I am not good at saying good-by, in fact I refuse to say good by.  I hugged you and said, with tears in my eyes....I'll see you later. Now the time has come to part once again, but as my grandmother always said -that good byes are final and I believe that I will see you again.  So one last time Sid Bacon - I will see you later!