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H. Warren Button, retired professor of education
H. Warren Button, professor emeritus in the Department of Educational Organization, Administration and Policy in the Graduate School of Education for nearly three decades, died Aug. 17 in Spring Hill, Fla., after a lengthy illness. He was 83.
Button was a member of the UB faculty from 1965 until his retirement in 1993, and in 1969 served as chair of the Department of Social Foundations of Education. In addition to his teaching duties, Button coordinated GSE's student teacher program, directed its Inner City Teacher Preparatory Program and served as an advisor to dozens of doctoral students.
An educational historian, Button was the founder and longtime editor of the journal Urban Education. He co-authored a number of books on teaching and the history of education in America, including (with Eugene F. Provenzo Jr.), the textbook "History of Education and Culture in America." He also contributed chapters to many other books and a number of articles to professional journals, quarterlies and reviews.
His extensive collection of 19th-century textbooks and research materials have been donated to several colleges, and a collection of his papers are held in the UB Archives. Button maintained a lifelong love of antiques and gardening, and was able to enjoy these fully after he retired to his farm in Wilson, where he lived until he moved to Florida in 2004.
Button was born in Ridley Park, Pa., and grew up in Belleville, Ill. During World War II, he tested munitions and marine armored plate for the United States Navy at Dahlgren Naval Proving Ground.
Following the war, Button completed his undergraduate degree and earned a master's degree in American history and a doctorate in education from Washington University in St. Louis. He taught in the St. Louis Public Schools and at St. Louis University and Washington University before joining the UB faculty.