Services for Dr. Brian Rader Wednesday

TAHLEQUAH -- A Celebration of Life Service in tribute to Dr. Brian Rader will be held Wednesday, Jan. 27 at 11 a.m. in the University Center Rozell Ballroom on the campus of Northeastern State University. Visitation is scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 26 at Hart Funeral Home, 1506 N. Grand Ave., in Tahlequah.

Parking spaces will be reserved in the Willis lot, located south of the Administration Building, University Center Commuter lot and at Doc Wadley Stadium. Shuttle services will run between the parking lots and the University Center beginning at 10 a.m., and will be available during and after the service.

Rader joined the Northeastern State faculty in 1967 as a political science instructor and was a professor at the time of his death. His died as the result of an apparent heart attack suffered early Friday morning.

Within a few short hours following his death, fellow faculty members at Northeastern State University organized a memorial scholarship fund in honor of Rader and students mourning the loss of a favorite professor offered condolences to his family on Facebook.

Colleagues remember Dr. Rader, who was serving in his 43rd year of teaching, as a favorite among students and dedicated to creating a learning environment that helped students explore new ideas and creative ways to solve societys problems.

Dr. Brian Rader has been a teacher, mentor, colleague and friend to generations of NSU students, faculty and staff, Dr. Don Betz, NSU president, said in a message to the university community on Friday. To say that Brian Rader loved Northeastern State University is the consummate understatement. He was part of the fabric of personal and professional commitment to teaching and learning, to students and their success, that has distinguished the university for over 100 years.

Dr. Chuck Ziehr, chair of the NSU department of social sciences and professor of geography, noted that the discomfort of recent health problems was overridden by Raders love of teaching. Nearly 150 students were enrolled in Raders classes for spring semester, which began Jan. 13.

I met him in the hallway headed to class the other day, and he was literally hanging on the railing and going down the steps sideways from his third floor office, Ziehr recalled. And I am certain when he got to class it was unforgettable for his students and a joy for him.

Many of his former students have sought work in public service, with positions ranging from city managers to town councilors to state representatives. It seems like anywhere my wife and I go, someone will know who we are, said Rader during a 2007 interview. I always look forward to going to classes and enjoy the students and the interchange with them.

During his time in Tahlequah, Rader amassed impressive credentials in community service. He served on the Tahlequah City Council for 16 years, chaired the board of Tahlequah City Hospital, was a representative to the Eastern Oklahoma Development District, was chair of the Sanitation Enterprise Committee, served as acting mayor of the city of Tahlequah, and was a member of the board of directors for the Tahlequah Area Chamber of Commerce.

In 2007, the Northeastern Student Government Association honored Rader as faculty member of the year. The same year, the Oklahoma Political Science Association (which he once served as president) honored him for forty years of service to Oklahoma higher education. During a special presentation at the state capitol, Rader also received a citation of merit from the Oklahoma House of Representatives, signed by 13 NSU graduates who were members of the House.

Betz noted that Rader modeled the way as a community leader, sharing his insight and perspective.

His knowledge of, and passion for, the democratic political process motivated many to be engaged citizens and to pursue lives of public service, he said. His contributions are legion, and a portion of his legacy lives on in the good service to communities rendered by his students.

Jerry Cook, NSU director of community relations and former mayor of Tahlequah, served alongside Rader when he was a city councilman and remembers him as a strong and unyielding advocate of local and regional health initiatives, neighborhoods and grassroots level citizens involvement, and youth services.

Dr. Rader recognized the importance of long term planning to protect the environment and sustainability. He was forward-thinking and an icon not only on the NSU campuses and in Tahlequah, but throughout the state, Cook said.

Last fall, Cook attended a session of the Oklahoma Academy for State Goals and saw firsthand Raders reach across the state and his influence among former students.

As we moved from room to room, over four days, Brian Rader saw so many former students from all over the state who told him how much hed helped them become who they are today and the influence he had on their lives, Cook recalled.

One such student is NSU alumnus Rick Farmer, director of committee staff for the Oklahoma House of Representatives, who wrote in a note to OPSA members on Friday, We all have great debts for our careers. One of mine is to Dr. Brian Rader. Not only did he shepherd this late bloomer through an undergraduate education, he provided the encouragement and inspiration that I needed to seek an advanced degree.

As the longest serving member of NSU's faculty, Rader acted as the faculty marshall and led the academic procession at university commencements.

A graduate of Colorado State University with his bachelor of arts and master of arts degrees in political science, he earned a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Oklahoma while teaching at NSU. His wife, Deborah Rader, is a teacher at Tahlequah Middle School.

To honor Raders memory through a memorial scholarship fund for political science students, contact the NSU Foundation, 918-444-4200.