Bruce Wayne Bastian is an American computer programmer, businessperson, philanthropist, and social activist. He co-founded the WordPerfect Software Company with Alan Ashton in 1978.
Early life and education
Bastian was born on March 23, 1948, in Twin Falls, Idaho. He attended college at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, where he initially majored in music. While serving as the director of the BYU Cougar Marching Band, Bastian developed a software program to help choreograph marching band performances with the help of instructor Alan Ashton. After leaving his position with the marching band, he went on to earn his master's degree in computer science.
Career
Upon graduating in the spring of 1978, Bastian briefly worked for Ashton and another partner, developing word processing software. When that company closed due to inadequate funding, Bastian took a job with the Eyring Research Institute. At ERI, Bastian briefly worked on a language translation program. Within a few months of his employment at ERI, the company signed a contract with Orem City, Utah, to produce a word processor for the city's new DEC PDP-11/34 mini computer. Since Bastian was the only employee at ERI who had any development experience with word processing, the company contracted with Bastian and Ashton to develop what would become WordPerfect. Originally the word processor was written in DEC Assembler Language. It was later ported to the IBM PC. At one time Bastian's net worth was estimated at $1.4 billion, earning him a place on the Forbes list of the 500 wealthiest people in America.
Philanthropy
Bastian has long been a major donor to Utah's cultural arts. Among these is the Bastian Foundation Diversity Lecture Series at Westminster College, Salt Lake City. Somewhere along the way, "philanthropy transitioned to activism". Bastian contributed half of the Don't Amend Alliance's budget for fighting Utah's constitutional amendment defining marriage as between only a man and a woman. A native of Twin Falls, Idaho, he was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, served as a Mormon missionary in Italy, married in the LDS temple and had a family prior to coming out and later becoming a social activist for gay rights. He is a member of the board of directors of the Human Rights Campaign, the US's largest gay and lesbianpolitical action committee, and was grand marshal of the Utah Pride Festival's parade in 2004. On July 26, 2008, at the San Francisco Human Rights Campaign dinner, Bastian announced he was donating $1 million to HRC, designated to fight California Proposition 8, which eliminated same-sex marriage in California. He was the first individual to pledge such a large amount to fight the proposition. He is the executive producer of , a film about the LDS church's involvement in California Proposition 8, and the 2007 documentary For the Bible Tells Me So. He was also the first major donor to the National Equality March. In 2010, in honor of Bastian's long-term commitment to the arts, President Barack Obama appointed him to the Presidential Advisory Committee of the Arts.
