David H. Bayley

On May 10, 2020 David Bayley’s life came full circle: he died near Granville close to where he was born 87 years earlier.  He lived a full meaningful life that led him far and wide before retiring several years ago at Kendal at Granville.  He attended Denison University in Granville where he met Anita “Chris” Ellis, his wife of 57 years; Chris died in 2014.  Together they raised two daughters and the whole family often traveled internationally for extended trips. 

David earned his PhD in political science at Princeton University.  He was professor of criminal justice first at University of Denver and then at the State University of New York at Albany where he was the Dean of the School of Criminal Justice and a Distinguished Emeritus Professor who was highly respected for his superlative teaching and mentoring.  He was the author of eighteen well-regarded scholarly books and many journal articles.  His academic work became the practical foundation for promoting fair and democratic policing.  He was also involved in creating new policing policies in the aftermath of political conflict in Bosnia and Northern Ireland.  His passion was creating policing policies that relied on building community ties and minimizing coercion.  He received international honors for his decades of contribution to the field, including the Order of the Rising Sun, Golden Rays with Neck Ribbon from the government of Japan. 

He was a Fulbright Scholar at Oxford University and recently returned to Cambridge to supervise students doing research in policing.  His circle of colleagues around the globe became his extended family who often visited with each other. 

He served as an active member of the Board of Trustees at Denison University for 25 years and helped navigate several major decisions.  He was delighted to return to Granville for retirement where he once again enjoyed attending plays and concerts as well as meeting with colleagues for scholarly discussions.  He was active in several roles at Kendal at Granville. 

David is survived by his daughter Jennifer; daughter Tracy; granddaughter Sarah; and his close companion, Susan Richardson of Granville.    

In lieu of flowers, he requested that donations be made to Planned Parenthood or Doctors without Borders. 

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