Tim Baldwin always roamed the halls with a smile on his face.
“You talk about half empty, half full,” his younger brother Ty said. “He was way above three-quarters full.”
Tim, a professor at the Kelley School of Business, died Oct. 10 at the age of 64. Tim’s friends and colleagues remember his fierce optimism and tenacity in every aspect of his life. His family spoke of his innate ability to always bring the fun out in any situation.
Those close to Tim recall his welcoming demeanor with everyone — whether they were old friends or strangers. Ty Baldwin remembered how his older brother would make an effort to include him in their basketball matches, even though he was several years younger.
Tim’s wife, JoEllen, who met Tim at their alma mater Michigan State University, said most of all Tim was gracious.
“Everything that he did,” JoEllen said. “He did it with tremendous grace."
Tim and his wife met on a hayride at Michigan State University and had been married for over 35 years. Their home is filled with photos Tim had taken throughout the years of their family and friends.
He was a lover of lunch at Lennie’s — but also Uptown Cafe. He hosted many annual gatherings at his family’s home complete with fireworks and magic shows. “The Great Timbini” would sometimes make an appearance, as many called him when showing off his magic tricks. He was a loyal fan of every IU sport but he notably loved to chat about Hoosier basketball.
Tim first began his career at IU in 1987 and had been at the university ever since. He mentored countless students during his time at IU both in and outside of the Management and Entrepreneurship department. More than anything, those students remember what his encouragement meant to them.
“I realize I am just one of hundreds of students, peers, coaches and executives whom Tim lightly helped along the way,” Ryan Luckey, Kelley M.B.A alumnus, said in an email. “What was easy for him to give out meant the world to those of us who received it.”
In the spring of 2022, Tim served as a core member of Jennifer Park’s Ph.D. dissertation committee — one of the last committees he would be a part of in his long career. Park, who is now an assistant professor of instructional technology at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, recalled how she was honored to have Tim as a mentor, since he was an academic who shaped the very field she was in.
“I’ve read his work for the past seven years in my graduate program,” Park said. “I’ve been reading his work that published in the years before I was even born.”
She recently watched her dissertation defense over again to relive the moment when she celebrated with Tim.
“I wanted to feel that moment again of him hugging me and telling me that I did a great job,” Park said. “He’s not only an intellectual person; he’s a human being — a really exceptional human being that is so giving and supportive.”
While he was a consistent presence and leader in Kelley, Tim’s memory lives far outside the school’s boundaries.
Greg Fisher, a Kelley professor of entrepreneurship, remembers how Tim never failed to attend any of his daughters’ lemonade stands. When Tim helped sponsor new cheerleading uniforms, he emailed Fisher’s daughter to make sure the team never lost their positive spirit, regardless of how their team was faring. He signed the email “Dare to be great” — a common sign-off and saying of Tim’s.
Curt Simic, President Emeritus of the IU Foundation, remembers apologizing to Tim for calling so often when a prospective student was making a visit to campus. Tim always dismissed his concerns, saying how it was a privilege to show visitors around — never a burden.
Arvind Parkhe, now a professor of Strategy and International Business at Temple University, joined IU two years after Tim. Parkhe said in an email that Tim guided him through his work with patient wisdom. In saying goodbye to Tim, he said he is doing so for someone who is far more important than a colleague.
“It is impossible to forget his ever-cheerful smile and positive attitude,” Parkhe said. “He was more than a colleague; he was a friend.”
Tim is survived by his wife JoEllen, his son Matt and brothers Scott and Ty.Tim Baldwin always roamed the halls with a smile on his face.
