Emeritus Professor Stuart Hyde, who was kind and encouraging to anyone with whom he came in contact, died this past April 2015. He served as chair of San Francisco State University’s Broadcast Electronic Communication Arts (BECA) department from 1958 to 1981 and was a driving force to BECA’s rise to prominence as a pre-eminent electronic media degree program. The department is now widely regarded as one of the most prestigious programs of its kind in the country.
A Life in Broadcasting and Teaching
Stuart was born in Fresno in 1923 to his parents Anna and Henry Hyde, descendants of Germans who had immigrated to Fresno in the late 1800s and who, during World War I, changed their name from Heidt to Hyde. Stuart graduated from Fresno High School in June 1941 and was drawn not only to the fields of radio and film, but also to the theatre, creating and performing in radio plays throughout high school. At the outset of World War II, he worked at the Henry J. Kaiser shipyards in Richmond, California, later entering active service in the U.S. Navy where he served as an officer for the duration of the war. Stuart was proud to have participated in the invasions of Iwo Jima and Okinawa on the USS Lowndes. Upon returning from the war, he attended the University of California at Los Angeles, where he received a B.A. in Theater Arts in 1948. After marrying Allie Bargum in 1949, he continued his studies at Stanford University, receiving a Master of Arts degree in Speech and Drama in 1950, and a Ph.D. in Dramatic Literature in 1953.
A talented educator and brilliant mentor to thousands of students throughout his long career, he taught drama and broadcasting courses at City College of San Francisco, USC and Stanford, before finally arriving at San Francisco State as head of what later became the BECA Department. In addition to college, Stuart taught media performance courses pro-bono at San Quentin Prison from 1970 to 1981, and he said he learned from that particular student group about the potential of audio and video as tools of change.
In 1964, devastated by the 16th Street Church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama, he made it a priority and a policy of BCA Department to recruit African American and other minority groups as professors and students into the program. In 1969 when San Francisco State was gripped by a student strike, he quelled a potential riot by delivering an eloquent speech encouraging the crowd to use nonviolent methods of expression. Subsequently, he and his family would receive death threats for months from the radical group known as the Weather Underground. Being a pacifist, he considered sending his eldest son to Canada during the Vietnam War.
Publications, Honors and Recognition
Stuart profoundly influenced radio and television broadcasting in the Bay Area and beyond, through his years of teaching and in his leadership roles at San Francisco State. He authored widely used books on broadcasting including his classic text first published in 1959, Radio and Television Announcing, which has sold more than 150,000 copies and has undergone several updates and revisions. Other books included Idea to Script, which focused on writing for radio and television.
Hyde is a member of the Broadcast Legends and has also been inducted in to the Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame and the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Silver Circle. In 2012, Stuart was inducted into the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Gold Circle, recognizing more than 50 years of outstanding contributions to the broadcast community.
Family, Students
Stuart’s wife of 63 years, Allie, was a renowned Bay Area artist who passed away in 2012. He leaves behind three children: Stuart Jr. of Petaluma, John Hyde of San Leandro, Allison Hyde-Rosales of San Francisco and four grandchildren: Sophia, Maxwell, Katy Rose and Emiliano Angel. Stuart is survived by his brother, Floyd, and was preceded in death by his brothers Delbert and Vernon.
He touched countless lives and wanted everyone to succeed in whatever endeavor made their lives meaningful. Students say Stuart genuinely enjoyed teaching, cared about his students and was dedicated to their learning. Even in retirement, Stuart kept in touch with former students to advise and counsel them.
A memorial in honor of Stuart Hyde's life is planned for Saturday, September 19, 2015.
This biography of Stuart Hyde is drawn from the San Francisco Chronicle obituary written by Janice Baker-Kinney and published on April 23, 2015.
Stuart Hyde Scholarship and Internship Fund
The Stuart Hyde Memorial Scholarship and Internship Fund is dedicated to building upon Stuart’s legacy of educating and training future generations of students in the field of digital media in all its forms. Please join us in honoring Stuart’s life and achievements by making a contribution on the Make A Gift webpage for the College of Liberal & Creative Arts.
If you have any questions regarding your gift or pledge payment schedule, please contact Chris Hepp at chepp@sfsu.edu or calling (415) 405-4355.
Thank you for your contribution that will help SF State and its College of Liberal & Creative Arts to preserve access to high quality public education.