Milling & Baking News - April 8, 2009 - 13

2009 Baking Hall of Fame

n his nomination for the
Baking Hall of Fame,
Louys A. Rumsey was described as the individual perhaps most responsible for the
establishment of the Baking
Science program at Kansas
State University. Interestingly,
the longtime professor of baking never held a position at
Kansas State.
Dr. Rumsey's career in baking spanned 35 years, but it
was during the final decade,
the period until 1959, that he
had a truly lasting impact on
the industry. It was during these years that, as a result
of Dr. Rumsey's vision, a baking science program was
established and flourished at Florida State University
in Tallahassee.
A native of Stryker, Ohio, Dr. Rumsey received bachelor 's and master 's degrees in chemistry from Denison
University, Granville, Ohio. He received a Ph.D. from
the University of Minnesota in 1922 in cereal technology, milling and baking. While studying for this degree,
Dr. Rumsey developed the standard method for determining diastatic enzyme activity and sugar values in
wheat, flour and dough.
Also during this period, Dr. Rumsey had a fellowship
at the American Institute of Baking, which was part of
the University of Minnesota at the time. Later, he was
named director of research at A.I.B. and was involved in
the relocation of the Institute to Chicago.
While his career was rooted in science, the business of
baking was a focus. He took time off from A.I.B. to work
with the Wheat Council to promote bread consumption. He organized and directed a national campaign to
"Make Toast Your Breakfast Food."
Seven years after joining A.I.B., Dr. Rumsey took the
position of national secretary at the American Bakers
Association.
The longest stretch in Dr. Rumsey's career was at W.E.
Long Co. where he served in several capacities until
1948. He was editor of the cooperative's in-house publication, organized conventions and general manager 's
conferences and devoted himself to sales promotion.

After leaving W.E. Long, Dr.
Rumsey established an industrial advertising agency involved with sales promotion
for baking and other parts of
the food industry.
He then joined Florida State
University as head of the Baking Science and Management
department, an assignment that
tapped into his background
both in baking technology and
the business of baking. His vision for the department was the
direct outgrowth of his experience in the industry.
"He realized the need to educate future baking executives not only in the science of baking, but the need to
educate young men and women in many other areas,"
according to the letter nominating Dr. Rumsey to the
Hall of Fame. "These areas included engineering, sales
management, marketing, human resources, identifying
customer and market needs, expansion, cost management and many other challenges facing an executive in
the baking industry."
Reflecting the business focus of the curriculum, the

Louys A. Rumsey

40 / April 7, 2009

Milling & Baking News

Louys A. Rumsey

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Milling & Baking News - April 8, 2009

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