POCATELLO — The longest tenured chair of an Idaho State University department and an expert in the rhetoric of Adolf Hitler, Bruce Loebs, died on Saturday. He was 87.

After receiving his doctorate degree from the University of Oregon, Loebs taught and coached debate for five years at California State University, East Bay, before he came to Idaho State University as the Chair of the Communication and Theatre Department in 1969.

Loebs held the chair position for 36 years, having served longer as a department chair than anyone in the history of Idaho State University. He continued teaching full-time until his retirement in 2015.

“He was an exceptional lecturer who had a passion for getting his material right,” said James DiSanza, Chair of the Communication, Media, and Persuasion Department. “I would often find him in his office the day before class, updating his notes to reflect a new book he had just read. But he also had a passion for connecting with each and every student and working to make the material he taught relevant to their lives.”

During his tenure as chair, Loebs shepherded the department through many changes, ISU said in a recent news release. He integrated the Mass Communication Department into Communication and Theatre in the mid-1980s and administered it until it became its own department in the 1990s. He helped the Theatre program become its own department when it moved into the Stephens Performing Arts Center. Loebs was also responsible for restoring oral communication to ISU’s general education curriculum.

”Dr. Loebs was an amazing educator and academic citizen,” said Kandi Turley-Ames, dean of the College of Arts and Letters. “He understood that education was the great equalizer, and he took great pride in sharing his expertise and wisdom with all of his students — regardless of their age or background. He loved Idaho State students more than anyone I know.”

Throughout his career at Idaho State, Loebs taught Communication 1101, Argumentation, American Public Address, and the Rhetoric of Hitler and Churchill.

According to Nancy Legge, who teaches rhetoric in the Communication, Media, and Persuasion Department, Aristotle’s works were central to Loebs’ teaching and research.

“He used Aristotle’s ideas to understand and explain how Hitler used rhetoric to sway audiences and sell evil to the German people,” Legge said. “Bruce was probably the world’s foremost expert in the rhetoric of Adolf Hitler.”

Loebs wrote several articles about Hitler’s rhetorical strategies, but perhaps his most significant published work was an examination of the United States’ decision to drop the atomic bombs on Japan, titled “Hiroshima & Nagasaki: One Necessary Evil, One Tragic Mistake,” which was printed in the public affairs magazine, Commonweal.

Loebs was active in conservative political circles in Idaho throughout the ’70s and early ’80s as a respected consultant and speech writer.

“Dr. Loebs inspired me with his immense wisdom, combined with his commitment to rigor, clarity and integrity—core tenets that defined my life at ISU and all the years since graduation,” said Jeremy Towsey-French, a former student and business owner in Oregon.

Prior to his retirement, and for several years after, Loebs taught in the Idaho State University New Knowledge Adventures program, where he offered six-week courses on the rhetoric of World War II, the Vietnam War, or the American Revolution. He would pack the room with 40-50 community members eager to hear from a true expert.

Aside from his family, nothing was more important or a more defining element of Loebs’ life than teaching. Loebs would stay after class for however long a student needed him to help them with the material. He would have hours-long conversations with students in his office, discussing course material, politics, and current affairs. He loved academic life because it allowed him to improve the lives of the next generation.

“As a non-traditional student, Dr. Loebs inspired me to pursue my education,” said Holly Kartchner, a former student and the Director of Recruitment and Retention for the ISU College of Arts & Letters. “He believed in me and I would have done whatever I could to fulfill his expectations. He changed my life.”

Loebs is survived by his wife Neila, his son Grant, daughter Claire, and his grandchildren — John, Sarah, Nathaniel, Ryan, and Amanda.