Head of Acquisitions, IUPUI University Library
July 28, 1944 - December 13, 2020
Adopted by the IUPUI Faculty Council at their meeting on May 4, 2021.
James (Jim) Allen Baldwin died of complications of a long battle with Parkinson’s disease at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Indianapolis at 12:45 pm on December 13, 2020, at the age of 76. Jim was predeceased by his parents, Margaret Lafferty and Allen C. Baldwin, and brother, John C. Baldwin. He is survived by his wife of 38 years, Rosalie Vermette. Jim is lovingly
remembered by his sister, Julia B. Mayton of New Hartford, New York, and sister-in-law Nancy Baldwin of Whitesboro, New York; his nephew and wife, Jon and Jennifer Baldwin and children Zachary, Katie, and Matthew of West Olive, Michigan, and his nephew and wife, Jeffery and Stacy Baldwin of Glen Allen, Virginia. Jim is also survived by his brother-in-law and his wife, Raymond and Tina Vermette, and niece Tamara Vermette and nephew and wife, Gregory Vermette and Jennifer Dunn, and children Rose, Owen, and Erin.
Born in Utica, New York July 28, 1944, Jim lived in Oriskany Falls, New York until the age of 14. His family then moved to New Hartford, New York where Jim graduated from New Hartford High School. He went on to earn a B.A. degree in History from Catholic University of America, in Washington, D.C. in 1966. After graduate studies at Johns Hopkins and the University of Texas at Austin, where he received a master’s degree in Geography, Jim pursued doctoral studies in Geography at the University of California, Davis. In 1985 he obtained his M.S. degree in Library Science from Indiana University Bloomington. In 1979, Jim worked as an assistant professor of geography at IUPUI. Once he obtained his M.S. degree in Library Science in 1985, he moved to the IUPUI University Library as Head of Acquisitions, a position from which he retired in 2008. Jim actively participated in IUPUI faculty governance, activities which were well respected by his peers.
He originally thought he would pursue a career in architecture. His eye for design can be seen in their home where his Papua New Guinea art is displayed—art that he collected while living and doing doctoral research on the Gogodala. Jim was an avid collector of atlases. He loved to travel and to serve as a tour guide. From his early love of foreign cultures, he taught and lived in Mexico where he survived dysentery, in Papua New Guinea where he survived malaria, and in France where he survived speaking French, as he frequently quipped. Jim was widely known and respected for his encyclopedic knowledge and his sense of humor.
A +50-year member of the American Association of Geographers, Jim was a long-time parishioner of Saint Monica’s Catholic Church in Indianapolis. He was an enthusiastic member of the “Sticks” Parkinson’s Support Group at Second Presbyterian Church.
Jim’s library colleagues recall his:
- meticulous and masterful bibliographer with an encyclopedic knowledge of geography and its literature
- exemplary campus citizenship, with an active and consistent role on a multitude of IUPUI committees
- office appeared to others a disastrous pile of papers and books but it never seemed to slow him down
- kind and generous spirit, a mentor to many
- approached topics with great curiosity and thoroughness, especially collection development and library accreditation reports
THUS, BE IT RESOLVED, that this memorial resolution be placed in the minutes of the Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis Faculty Council with a moment of silence observed in honor of James Baldwin.
This resolution is written on behalf of Mr. Baldwin’s colleagues, friends and family and will be shared broadly with them.
Prepared by Kristi Palmer, Herbert Simon Family Dean of IUPUI University Library, Library personnel, and James Baldwin’s spouse and IUPUI Professor Emerita of French, School of Liberal Arts, Dr. Rosalie Vermette.