Dr. Robert (Bob) Ben-Zion Van Sickel

Dr. Robert (Bob) Ben-Zion Van Sickel of Terre Haute, Indiana died on March 29, 2025 of complications due to alcoholism. He was 68. He is survived by his beloved children: son (Eli Van Sickel) and daughter (Naomi Campbell), as well as their mother (Stephanie Downing), beloved son-in-law (Jeffrey Campbell), cherished grandson (Jude Campbell), sister (Tammy Van Sickel) and brothers (Del and Don Van Sickel).

Bob was born May 5, 1956 in Los Angeles, California and was raised in the oil fields of Bakersfield and Taft. A son of cowboys, he occasionally rode horses to deliver newspapers on his paper route. A lifelong baseball fan, he was the only left hand-throwing third baseman in his local Little League. And in a moment that foreshadowed his career as a Doctor of Philosophy, he once won an award for his portrayal of Henry David Thoreau in a high school play. After graduating high school, he enlisted with friends in the United States Navy. Though he was a pacifist, he often spoke with reverence of his time working aboard submarines off the coasts of California and The Pacific Northwest.

The first in his family to attend college, he obtained a bachelor's degree from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, and master’s and doctorate degrees in Political Science from the University of California Santa Barbara. He went on to teach for nearly 30 years, beginning at Purdue University Northwest (formerly Purdue Calumet) and Sonoma State University. After moving with his family to Terre Haute in 2002, Bob spent the last 19 years of his career at Indiana State University, where he was the longtime director of its Legal Studies program. While at ISU, he was well known for his participation in the annual Constitution Day, his presence on student trips to Washington D.C., and his “Film & Politics” course. He retired in 2021 with Emeritus status. His primary research interests were the Supreme Court of the United States, constitutional law, the mass media, and sociopolitical topics in film and music. His first book Not a Particularly Different Voice was about the jurisprudence of Sandra Day O’Connor, the first female justice on the Supreme Court. His second book, which he co-authored, was Tabloid Justice, which charted the creation of the 24-hour news cycle and its sensationalist coverage of the criminal justice system. He also wrote many articles and conference papers on subjects ranging from the rhetoric of Eugene V. Debs, to the history of political thought, to political ideology as portrayed in country music lyrics.

Music was the great passion of Bob’s life, particularly the guitar. He taught himself to play both flat picking and finger picking style, on both right-handed and left-handed guitars. He loved collecting instruments and gear of all kinds and would happily identify the make, model, year, and historical significance of almost any guitar on sight when asked. He was equally enthusiastic about the music of rock acts like the Grateful Dead and Los Lobos, as he was about jazz music from the 1920s and 30s, as he was about contemporary country acts like Lucinda Williams and Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives. He created many cherished memories taking his children to see live music concerts of all genres, sometimes driving hundreds of miles round trip to do so. He was a staunch supporter of the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Democratic Party, free speech, the performing arts, public broadcasting, and locally-owned international restaurants. In 2011, Bob converted to Judaism, a religion he had long felt drawn to both culturally and spiritually. He identified as a proud Jew for the rest of his life, regularly celebrating Jewish culture and donating to Jewish causes. 

In accordance with his wishes, no funeral services will be performed. A celebration of life will take place at a later date and location to be announced. In lieu of flowers, well wishers may donate in his name to the American Civil Liberties Union or the CANDLES Holocaust Museum and Education Center. Finally, the family implores anybody struggling with alcohol addiction to seek help from communities like Alcoholics Anonymous or from local addiction care professionals—you are loved and worthy of recovery. 

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