Jacques Bailly

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Jacques A. Bailly
UVM Faculty Feature Jacques Bailly (square).jpg
Born1966 (age 55–56)
Education

Jacques A. Bailly (born 1966) is an American professor who serves as the Scripps National Spelling Bee's official pronouncer, a position he has held since 2003.[1] He was the 1980 Scripps National Spelling Bee champion.

Early life and education[]

Bailly grew up in the Denver, Colorado area. He began participating in spelling bees in sixth grade, training with a nun at his Catholic school.[1] He reached the National Spelling Bee as an eighth grader and won with the word elucubrate.[2]

Bailly studied Ancient Greek and Latin, receiving his bachelor's degree from Brown University and his PhD from Cornell University.[3] He learned German in Switzerland with the help of a Fulbright scholarship.[1] In 1990, he wrote a letter to the National Spelling Bee organizers offering his services and was hired as an associate pronouncer.[4] Bailly became the Bee's chief pronouncer after Alex Cameron's death in 2003.[1]

Career[]

Bailly works full-time as an associate professor of classics at the University of Vermont, specializing in Greek and Roman philosophy, particularly Plato.[1][5]

Personal life[]

Bailly is married to Leslyn Hall. They have two children.[6] He portrayed himself in the 2006 film Akeelah and the Bee, which focuses on a girl (played by Keke Palmer) who competes in the National Spelling Bee.[1]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d e f James Maguire. American Bee: the National Spelling Bee and the Culture of Word Nerds. Rodale, 2006. 121-124.
  2. ^ "Denver boy wins spelling bee". The Ledger. May 30, 1980. 5.
  3. ^ "Jacques A. Bailly CV" (PDF). uvm.edu. January 2014. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 20, 2012. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
  4. ^ M.J. Stephey. "https://web.archive.org/web/20130614035910/http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1900587,00.html Q&A: Spelling Bee Pronouncer Jacques Bailly]". Time. May 26, 2009. Retrieved on August 4, 2009.
  5. ^ "Jacques A. Bailly, Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies". uvm.edu/~classics/. University of Vermont. Archived from the original on February 28, 2018.
  6. ^ JABcv2014. JABcv2014. Retrieved on May 31, 2017.

External links[]

Preceded by Scripps National Spelling Bee winner
1980 		Succeeded by
Paige Pipkin
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