In a semester in which the University of Wisconsin has seemingly garnered attention for all the wrong reasons, it is easy to overlook professors whose contributions to the school are far more important yet attract considerably less notice. As such, we wish to pay tribute to the late Gordon Brewster Baldwin, a UW Law School professor emeritus who provided a half century of exemplary service to the university before his passing in Italy earlier this week.

First hired to teach international law in 1957, Mr. Baldwin quickly made his mark on the university, serving as associate dean of the law school from 1959-1966. Between 1971 and 1999, he was the director of officer education for ROTC at the university. During the 1980s and '90s, Mr. Baldwin served as a visiting professor in numerous countries around the world.

He left his mark outside the university as well, holding posts with the State Public Defender Board, the State Elections Board and the State Ethics Board over the years. As a lawyer, he successfully argued the Fourth Amendment case Welch v. Wisconsin before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Through his varied work on campus and off campus during his career, Mr. Baldwin epitomized the Wisconsin Idea, displaying the profound effect the university can have for the betterment of the state and world at large. Indeed, Wisconsin lost an academic giant this week, one who served as a model campus delegate for nearly 50 years. Cheers to Gordon Brewster Baldwin.