OSU alumnus provides a legacy for years to come aised on a dairy near smalltown Snyder, Oklahoma, Bob Westerman developed a passion for agriculture in his youth. When he graduated from Oklahoma State University in 1961 with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural education, his career took another direction. “I initially wanted to be a vocational agriculture teacher,” Westerman said. “Then, I got offered a part-time job working in the soil fertility research
program, which is how I really got interested in agronomy. “Also, during my undergrad program at OSU, I was trained as a fixed-wing pilot through the Army ROTC aviation program,” Westerman said. “When I went into the military, I got transferred into the helicopter flight program.” During his time in the Army, Westerman was a test pilot for recently repaired helicopters. At this time, helicopters were new to the military
Bob Westerman, OSU alumnus and emeritus faculty member, dedicated 37 years to wheat development at OSU. Photo by Kaitlynn Sebo. 16 | COWBOY JOURNAL
force and the Army was learning how to equip them with weapons, he said. “The guys said Bob was the best pilot in their class,” said Sharon Westerman, Bob Westerman’s wife. “They gave him the nickname ‘Tiger’ because he was not afraid to try anything.” After three years in the military, Bob Westerman furthered his education at the University of Illinois, where he earned a doctoral degree in soil science in 1969. He was at his first higher education job as a soil scientist at the University of Arizona from 1969 to 1976. With so many flight hours in various aircraft under his belt, Bob Westerman completed the requirements to get his commercial pilot’s license, which he used in his position. Sharon Westerman said her husband used his expertise in aviation to fly from place to place, which allowed him to be more efficient with time and money so he could conduct more research than he could traveling by car. “When we were living in Tucson, Arizona, we had a research station in Yuma, Arizona, which was probably a six-hour drive,” Bob Westerman said. “So, I would get my colleagues and fly there in two hours, do a day’s work, and fly back in the same day instead of taking three days to do it.” In 1976, Bob Westerman joined the agronomy faculty at OSU as an associate professor for soil fertility. He was promoted to professor, then Regents professor, then department head throughout the course of 25 years on the plant and soil sciences faculty.
