John H. Betton

John Howard Betton died peacefully at his home in La Crosse, WI, on October 22, 2017. He was 68.

John was born in Erith, Kent, UK, to Marjorie Kovachich Betton and Aubrey Harold Betton. He attended Dartford Grammar School and Oxford Brookes University in England. For a time, he worked in the City of London and later in Norwich, Norfolk. He emigrated to the United States when he married and received his Ph.D. from the University of South Carolina in Columbia. He moved with his wife to La Crosse when he became a professor in the Department of Management at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. While at UW-L, John taught classes in comparative management, business and human rights, and business and the environment.

As a professor, John worked hard to make his classes rigorous, relevant, and research-based. He pushed students out of their comfort zones to get them to think critically and wisely. He valued students and colleagues who took principled positions, advocated for human rights and human dignity, and took teaching, learning, and intellectual work seriously. One of his former students said,  “John was a great man who influenced me positively.” Former colleague, Greg Wegner, wrote: “John was one of the leading voices on the faculty senate who challenged his colleagues, students, and the administration about what it means to be an educated person.  He also was one of the most historically-minded professors in the College of Business as evidenced in the way he engaged students regarding the historical dimensions of [management] in the global community.   With his intellectual roots set deep in the history of the British labor movement, John was fearless in critiquing the injustices wrought by the dark underside of capitalism. He was one of the most learned of people and a true humanitarian.”

After retiring from UW-L, John traveled extensively (mainly to watch birds), read, listened to music, gardened, collected stamps, and kept up with news from around the world.

John is survived by his wife, Deborah Cromer, of La Crosse; their son, Robin Betton, of Boston, Massachusetts; and his brother, Graham Betton, of Rushton-Spencer, England.

Memorials may be sent to Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) International, Southern Poverty Law Center, ACLU of Wisconsin, or Greenpeace.