Commander John B. Washbush, USN

Class of 1964

Commander Washbush is a native of Madison, Wisconsin, where he graduated from Edgewood High School in 1960. He attended UW Madison and graduated in 1663, with a BA in History, and in 1964 with a MA in History. During his initial actived-uty tour (1964 - 1972) he completed the Navy Nuclear Power Program, served as Main Propulsion Assistant (MPA) and M and B Division Officer on USS ARNOLD J. ISBELL (DD-869), qualifying as Officer of the Deck (OOD-F), and on USS ENTERPRISE (CVN 65), serving as A Division Assistant and qualifying as a nuclear Propulsion Plant Watch Officer (PPWO) and Engineering Officer of the Watch (EOOW). The final tour of active duty was as an NROTC instructor and Assistant Professor of Naval Science at Marquette University.

Leaving active duty in 1972 he completed an MBA and a doctorate in Educational Administration at Marquette. From 1975 - 1980 he was Assistant Professor of Business Administration at the University of Wisconsin - Platteville. During this period, he remained active in the Ready Reserve.

He was recalled to active duty in January 1980, and, until mid-1982, was Director of NROTC Professional Development at the Naval Education and Training Command. He was then assigned to the University of Wisconsin-Madison NROTC as Executive Officer and Associate Professor of Naval Science. Leaving active duty again in 1986, he was active in the Ready Reserves until 1987 when he transferred to Naval Reserve Retired status. Recalled to active duty in retired status in July 1988, he again served as UW Madison NROTC Unit Executive Officer until January 1989.

In August 1989 he began a 17-year stint at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater where he progressed from Instructor to full Professor in the Management Department of the University’s College of Business and Economics. In May 2006 he retired from UW-Whitewater as Professor Emeritus of Management. During his academic professional life, he also taught at the college level at Pensacola Junior College, Madison Business College and Edgewood College. From 1987 to 2005 he was a member of the Board of Directors of the UW NROTC Alumni Association and served as Editor of its’ newsletter, Badger Shipmate.