Halbert E. Gulley (1919-2011) | University of Illinois Archives

Halbert E. Gulley was a Professor of Speech (1948-1967) and Head of the Division of General Studies (1962-1967) at the University of Illinois. Professor Gulley was the author of several books on communication, including Discussion, Conference, and Group Processes (1968), Essentials of Debate (1968), and Communication and Group Study (1977).

Halbert E. Gulley was born on November 21, 1919, in Sesser, Illinois, to Roy A. and Mary (Martel) Gulley. Gulley attended Goode-Barren Township High School and graduated in 1936. He then enrolled at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Education (1940) before going on to earn a Master of Arts degree from the University of Iowa (1941). In 1941, he was drafted into the U.S. Army.  Gulley retired as a captain in the Infinity after he was wounded in action in Germany. He graduated with a Ph.D. in speech communication (1948) from the University of Iowa and accepted a position as a professor of speech at the University of Illinois, where he taught for nineteen years.

Gulley left the University of Illinois in 1967 for Colorado State University and moved to the University of Kentucky a year later, where he served as chair of the Department of Speech for two years before accepting the chair of the Department of Speech, Speech Correction, and Theater at Northern Illinois University in 1970.  Professor Gulley retired from NIU in 1979.

Professor Gulley was a gifted orator and prolific writer publishing seven books during his lifetime. His book, Essentials of Discussion and Debate, written with Phillips R. Biddle, was translated into Japanese. Discussion, Conference, and Group Processes was also republished in India. Professor Gulley also taught adult continuing education courses, including seminars for the U.S. Air Force in Japan, Hawaii, West Germany, and England.

Halbert E. Gulley was married to Nadine Ellen Dauderman and had three children: Jerry Gulley, Beth Knecht, and Bill Gulley.  Halbert Gulley died at the age of 91 on January 5, 2011.

Source: Halbert E. Gulley obituary, Legacy.com