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[[Image:De bary.jpg|thumb|De Bary in [[Kent Library]] ]]

'''William Theodore de Bary''' [[Columbia College|CC]] '[[1941|41]] [[MA]] '[[1948|48]] [[PhD]] '[[1953|53]], [[LittD]] (HC) '[[1994|94]] ([[1919]] - ) is an East Asian studies expert. He is the [[John Mitchell Mason]] Professor, [[Provost]] Emeritus of the University, and Special Service Professor in the [[East Asian Language and Culture Department]]. A longstanding Columbian, he has played a significant role in the 20th century history of the university.

==Education==

De Bary is a Columbia alumnus many times over. He earned his [[AB]] from [[Columbia College]] in 1941, his MA in 1948 after returning from World War II, and his PhD in 1953. He was awarded a  LittD (Honoris Causa) in 1994, when he finally turned in the "minor revisions" he was asked to make to his 1953 doctoral dissertation. De Bary also briefly studied at [[Harvard]] before the breakout of the war. In addition, he holds honorary degrees from Loyola University of Chicago and St. Lawrence University.

==Career==

When World War II began, de Bary ended his studies at Harvard and served in American military intelligence in the Pacific Theatre. 

De Bary began teaching at Columbia in [[1953]], after completing his dissertation. Later, de Bary was active in faculty intervention during the [[1968 protests]] and turned down the Deanship of Columbia College to serve as the university's Provost from [[1971]] to [[1978]]. In the [[De Bary Report]] of the 1980s, he advocated the reshaping of the College's [[Core Curriculum]] to include "Great Books" classes devoted to non-Western civilizations. 

A recognized educator, he won Columbia's [[Great Teacher Award]] in [[1969]], its [[Lionel Trilling Book Award]] in [[1983]] and its [[Mark Van Doren Award for Great Teaching]] in [[1987]]. He is also a recipient of the [[John Jay Award]] for distinguished alumni, which he won in [[1989]], and an [[Alexander Hamilton Medal]].

De Bary refused to accept appointment as a [[University Professor]] in 1978, as he did not want it to seem like a backroom deal had been struck. Instead, he accepted the just-created [[John Mitchell Mason]] Professor of the University, a post created specifically for former Provosts. He retired in [[1990]], but still teaches up to five courses per semester on a pro bono basis. Usually these courses include an introduction to major topics in East Asian civilization, an intermediate literature course in Chinese humanities, an intermediate literature course in Japanese humanities, a graduate-level survey of either Chinese or Japanese philosophy (alternating each year), and the Columbia College senior colloquia [[Nobility and Civility]].

The [[2006]]-[[2007]] academic year marked de Bary's 70th year as a Columbian (he entered in [[1937]]), his 54th year on the faculty, and his 17th year of ''de jure'' retirement.

He is additionally famous for rarely missing a Columbia [[football]] game since he began teaching at the university.

== Works ==

De Bary has edited numerous books of original source material relating to East Asian (primarily Japanese and Chinese) literature, history, and culture, as well as making the case, in his book ''Nobility and Civility'', for the universality of Asian values. He is recognized as essentially creating the field of Neo-Confucian studies.

== Photos ==

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==Major Works==
*''Living Legacies at Columbia'' (2006)
*''Nobility and Civility : Asian Ideals of Leadership and the Common Good'' (2004)
*''Asian Values and Human Rights : A Confucian Communitarian Perspective'' (1998)
*''Confucianism and Human Rights'' (1998)
*''Mahābhārata'' (translation, 1998)
*''Waiting for the Dawn : a Plan for the Prince'' (translation, 1993)
*''Learning for One's Self : Essays on the Individual in Neo-Confucian Thought'' (1991)
*''The Trouble with Confucianism'' (1991)
*''Approaches to the Asian Classics'' (1990)
*''Message of the mind in Neo-Confucianism'' (1989)
*''Neo-Confucian Education : the Formative Stage'' (1989)
*''East Asian Civilizations : a Dialogue in Five Stages'' (1988)
*''The Rise of Neo-Confucianism in Korea'' (1985)
*''The Liberal Tradition in China '' (1983)
*''Yüan thought : Chinese Thought and Religion under the Mongols'' (1982)
*''Neo-Confucian Orthodoxy and the Learning of the Mind-And-Heart'' (1981)
*''Principle and Practicality : Essays in Neo-Confucianism and Practical Learning'' (1979)
*''Unfolding of Neo-Confucianism'' (1975)
*''The Hindu Traditon: Readings in Oriental Thought'' (1972)
*''Self and Society in Ming Thought'' (1970)
*''The Buddhist Tradition in India, China and Japan'' (1969)
*''Approaches to Asian Civilizations'' (1964)
*''Guide to Oriental Classics'' (1964)
*''Sources of Japanese Tradition: Volume 1 '' (1964)
*''Sources of Chinese Tradition: Volume 1'' (1960)
*''Approaches to the Oriental Classics: Asian Literature and Thought in General Education'' (1959)
*''Sources of Indian Tradition'' (1957)

''(Source: Library of Congress Online Catalog)''

==External links==
* [http://c250.columbia.edu/c250_celebrates/your_columbians/william_debary.html Your Columbians: William Theodore de Bary]
* This article is largely based on material from [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wm._Theodore_de_Bary Wikipedia's article on William Theodore de Bary]

{{succession|office=Provost|years=[[1971]]-[[1978]]|preceded=[[Polykarp Kusch]]|succeeded=[[Norman M. Mintz|Norman N. Mintz (acting)]]}}

[[Category:Columbia College alumni|De Bary, William Theodore]]
[[Category:Class of 1941|De Bary]]
[[Category:GSAS alumni|De Bary, William Theodore]]
[[Category:EALAC professors|De Bary, William Theodore]]
[[Category:Provosts|De Bary, William Theodore]]
[[Category:Van Doren Award recipients|De Bary]]
[[Category:Trilling Award recipients|De Bary]]
[[Category:Professors Emeriti|De Bary]]
[[Category:John Jay Award recipients|De Bary]]
[[Category:Alexander Hamilton Medal recipients|De Bary]]