IN MEMORIAM

Wyman Hicks

Former SSU Professor Was Developer of Food Stamps Program, Strap-Handled Shopping Bag

Wyman Hicks, professor emeritus of management in the School of Business and Economics from 1968 to 1988, died on Feb. 4. He was 90 years old.

Hicks' life was full of notable achievements. As a witness to Kristallnacht in 1938, Hicks responded by aiding German Jews in finding sponsors to help them escape the country. In 1939, he assisted in coordinating a strike for farm workers in the Central Valley. Shortly thereafter, he began working for the Department of Agriculture, where he helped to develop the nation's first Food Stamps program.

He then obtained a bachelor's and master's in economics from UC Berkeley, before becoming the director of new product development for a paper-manufacturing corporation, where he aided in the invention of strap-handled shopping bags. Hicks was also the co-founder of the Marin County Human Rights Commissions, served on the Bay Area Air Quality District Board and the Sausalito City Council.

He joined SSU in 1968 and taught for two decades. After his retirement he joined the staff of Barbara Boxer, serving as her spokesman until 1991. Diagnosed with Alzheimer's in the late 1990's, Hicks began volunteering at the Fairfax Library, which he continued to do until shortly before his death.

A memorial service will be held for Wyman Hicks on Sun., March 1 at 2 p.m. at the Fairfax Women's Club. For more information on the life of Wyman Hicks, read his full obituary.