LaVerne L. Buldhaupt

LaVerne Buldhaput, 64, died Oct. 4. A scholarship in his memory was established by family and friends for junior and senior students majoring in biology at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. Buldhaupt came to UW-L in 1961 after receiving a master’s degree from Drake University. He retired from the biology department in June of 1997.

Buldhaupt, an assistant professor, was the department’s parasitologist (study of parasites). He was an advisor for many students, especially those in pre-nursing. According to Dick Nord and Tom Claflin, biology/microbiology colleagues of Buldhaupt’s, he could be expected to drop by the faculty lounge with some interesting tales that started great rumors. “He was a nice guy, a good guy,” said Claflin. Chancellor commented that “the University and its students will benefit from the legacy of a great teacher in the form of this scholarship fund.”
Buldhaupt reputedly had some of the highest classroom standards in the university. “If you earned an A in one of his classes, you earned an A; he did not give them out easily,” recalled Calflin.

He served two years with the U.S. Army Medical Corps during the Korean War. When he came to Wisconsin State University-La Crosse in 1961 he told the news service his hobby was farming. That became gardening and bird watching over time.