By Joana Karoshi | Staff Writer
Dr. Pati Milligan, an information systems professor in the Hankamer School of Business, died peacefully on June 7. She was 76.
Milligan joined Baylor as assistant professor in 1983. She spent 37 years teaching in the Hankamer School of Business before retiring in 2020.
“The passing of our former colleague deeply saddened the faculty of the Department of Information Systems and Business Analytics,” said Dr. Jonathan Trower, chair of Baylor’s Department of Information Systems and Business Analytics, in an email.
“She was a valued and supportive colleague, a dedicated teacher, and a generous mentor whose influence will live on in the many students and faculty members whose lives she touched,” he continued.
Trower said Milligan was among the early faculty members who helped establish the Department of Information Systems in the 1980s. He said she taught numerous courses and influenced generations of students by introducing them to programming languages, including COBOL and Visual Basic.
Milligan earned a Bachelor of Science from East Texas State University, a Master of Education from Texas A&M University and a Master of Science in computer science from East Texas State University, according to her obituary. She later received a Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of North Texas, where her dissertation focused on computer literacy, her Baylor faculty profile notes.
Her obituary states that despite not being a student at Baylor, Milligan considered herself a “proud Baylor Bear.” She was an avid supporter of the Baylor basketball teams.
Additionally, Milligan was a member of Alpha Chi Omega during college, following in the footsteps of her grandmother, mother and aunts. Later, her daughter, Mindy Reeves, later joined the sorority. Milligan served as a faculty advisor for Baylor’s Theta Iota chapter.
“Dr. Pati Milligan served our community faithfully as both a faculty advisor of Alpha Chi Omega and a beloved member of the Baylor community,” said Cate Calderon, the Chapter President of the Theta Iota chapter in an email. “She upheld our values of unwavering loyalty and sisterhood, and encouraged others to reach their full potential in their academic and personal endeavors.”
Milligan was born July 29, 1949, in Gladewater. She is survived by her husband Michael D. Milligan and had two daughters, Mindy Reeves and Mitzi Taylor, along with multiple grandchildren.
A visitation for Milligan took place Aug. 9 at Wilkirson-Hatch-Bailey Funeral Home. A memorial service occurred Aug. 10 at Saint Paul’s Episcopal Church, located at 515 Columbus Ave. Her ashes will be interred at Gladewater Memorial Cemetery, according to the obituary.
