Late professor remembered as Spanish scholar

IU faculty and staff remember late professor Russell O. Salmon as an  “inspirational and devoted teacher” as well as a “passionate person.”

Affectionately known by many as “Russ,” the professor emeritus in the IU Department of Spanish and Portuguese died May 28, at the age of 75 after falling ill six months prior.

The Port Jervis, N.Y., native earned his bachelor’s degree at Williams College in Massachusetts, then received his master’s degree at Middlebury College in Vermont. He came to IU for the first time in 1967 as a lecturer before earning his doctorate at Columbia University two years later.

Spanish and Portuguese Department Chairwoman Catherine Larson said Salmon’s academic focus was on Spanish American literature and culture, with a concentration in poetry.

He is known for editing “Golden UFOs: The Indian Poems,” a collection of written works from renowned Nicaraguan poet and activist Ernesto Cardenal.

Aside from teaching, Salmon played important roles in IU’s study abroad and service-learning programs. He led a Spanish language workshop for teachers in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, for more than 13 summers, and he also directed the IU study abroad programs in Madrid and the Mexican cities of Guanajuato and Cuernavaca.

Salmon also worked with Collins Living-Learning Center, teaching an L200 service-learning course, “Mexico: Culture and Service,” in which students traveled to Guanajuato and volunteered in an optometry clinic.

In addition to those programs, Salmon had a career-long commitment to the Individualized Major Program, presiding over its thesis program.

His work on campus garnered him several awards, including IU’s Teaching Excellence Recognition Award in 1999 and 1995’s Postsecondary Level Teacher of the Year Award from the Indiana chapter of the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese.

Barbara Seitz de Martinez, deputy director of the Indiana Prevention Resource Center, said she met Salmon in spring 1987 when placed on a panel discussing current events in Nicaragua.

They worked together in establishing the sister cities program between Bloomington and Posoltega, Nicaragua. He did the same with Santa Clara, Cuba, as well.

“Russ was very, very passionate about the goals of the sister city program, about building relationships, friendships and sharing culture and personal experiences,” Seitz de Martinez said. “He was very committed and could be counted on.”

Steve Hinnefeld, a University communications specialist, said he counted on Salmon as a source for stories he wrote for the Bloomington Herald-Times. He and the professor were neighbors and would run into each other often around Bloomington and the local YMCA.

“I admired him. ... He was very striking, kind of handsome and had this kind of stentorian voice, this voice that made it seem he should have gone on stage,” Hinnefeld said.

From Salmon’s death, Hinnefeld said he will take away “that sense you can really act on your beliefs.”

Outside of a professional setting, Salmon enjoyed the water and was a competitive age-group swimmer. He was also an avid horseman and a member of the Monroe County Saddle Club. He is survived by his wife, Kate; his children, Russell, Scott and Sarah and several grandchildren.

“Professor Salmon was not only a colleague but a personal friend,” said Larson, who worked alongside Salmon for 24 years. “I reacted with great sadness at the death of a colleague I had known my entire professional life at Indiana University. I will carry Russ’ passion for the Hispanic world, his delight in teaching and his commitment in service.”