David Buren

Dr. David Paul Van Buren, age 74, of Platteville, Wisconsin, passed away unexpectedly on August 19, 2022.

Dave was born on November 5, 1947, in western New York to parents Laverne “Pete” and Frances “Sally” (Carney) Van Buren. David was a devoted and loving son, brother and uncle. He was preceded in death by his parents, brother Mark, and brother-in-law, Jon Mollnow. He is survived by his siblings Paula (Van Buren) Mollnow, Patricia Van Buren and Eric Van Buren, his dear friends Jacky Xia and Barbara Parsons, five nieces and nephews and their families and special friends, Wally and Kathleen Iselin.

Dave graduated with a bachelor of arts degree magna cum laude from St. Bonaventure University (New York) in 1969, where he majored in English literature and psychology and minored in philosophy and classical languages. In 1971, he received a master of arts from State University of New York, Albany, and earned a PhD in criminal justice with distinction from there in 1984.

In 1976, Dave joined the faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville as an assistant professor in criminal justice. He was promoted to associate professor in 1985. Before his promotion to full professor in 1989, Dave spent one year as a member of the Faculty of Law at the Institute of Criminology at Cambridge University in England.

Dave had a long, prestigious career at UW-Platteville. He served in many capacities, including the Faculty Senate, Academic Planning Council, University Undergraduate Curriculum Commission, Women's Studies Program Council, and the Regents' Task Force on the Status of Women. His gifted teaching was recognized in 1990 and 1999, respectively, when he received the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society's Award for Excellence in Teaching and the College of Liberal Arts and Education Teaching Excellence Award. For his unwavering support of the liberal arts, Dave was inducted in 2015 into UW-Platteville's Arts and Letters Hall of Fame.

Dave retired from UW-Platteville in 2013 after serving as the Associate Vice Chancellor and Dean of Graduate Studies for thirteen years. In that capacity, he was greatly involved in developing programs with a partner university in China. Through this collaboration, UW-Platteville became the first university in Wisconsin to host a Confucius Institute for teaching Chinese language and culture. Dave was named its dean.

As an administrator, Dave was always fair and impartial and was a mentor to many younger faculty. His heart never left the classroom, though. He loved teaching and learning. He enjoyed having lively conversations with students, friends, and colleagues over a Guinness (or two) on topics that ranged from criminal justice and philosophy to history and Native American culture.

Dave's love of travel and other cultures took him around the world. He made many trips to China, toured throughout Europe, coordinated UW-Platteville's criminal justice seminar in England for two decades, and participated in UW-Platteville's Western (US) fieldtrips with the geography department. Dave had been recently studying ancient Egyptian culture in preparation for a trip to Egypt in 2023.

It was while serving as a visiting scholar in criminal justice at Northern Arizona University, researching peacemaking and the tribal courts of the Navajo Nation, that Dave fell in love with the American Southwest. He embraced its history and culture and spent part of each year traveling and learning about Indigenous peoples, notably the Hopi.

Among the many things Dave will be remembered for is his wonderful sense of humor. UW-Platteville once made national news when Dave secretly penned an application letter for the position of Dean of the College of Letters and Science under the alias “Pope John Paul II.” In true Dave fashion, he wrote the letter in Latin.

A Celebration of Life will be held on September 20, 2022, from 5-7 pm at the Nohr Gallery at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville. The Melby Funeral Home & Crematory, Platteville, is assisting the family. Online condolences can be made at www.melbyfh.com.

In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the Criminal Justice Alumni Scholarship, a fund Dave and emeritus professor Joseph Lomax created to support criminal justice students at UW-Platteville. (Visit www.uwplatt.edu/give, select Other, and type the name of the scholarship.)