Paul Risser, a great friend of the Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) Network, passed away on July 10, 2014, in Norman, Oklahoma, at age 74.
Paul was a man of many accomplishments. He was a well-known ecologist who numbered among his students the current chair of the LTER Science Council, Scott Collins, who lamented his passing, noting that he was "kind, generous, ambitious and humble, with a wonderful sense of humor.” Paul served as chief of the Illinois Natural History Survey, Provost and Vice President for Research at the University of New Mexico, President of Miami University in Ohio, President of Oregon State University, Acting Director of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Chancellor of The Oklahoma State System of Higher Education, and most recently, Chair and Chief Operating Officer of the University of Oklahoma Research Cabinet. He will be remembered by his colleagues as a visionary thinker with an extraordinary talent for drawing together multiple opinions and ideas to form cogent strategies.
Paul’s association with LTER dates to his tenure at the National Science Foundation (NSF), where he was part of the group of program officers responsible for the LTER program. Later, he and Jane Lubchenco served as co-chairs of the committee that performed the first decadal review of the LTER Network. That report was a forward-looking and thoughtful assessment of the progress and potential of the LTER Network. Paul continued his support of the LTER Network by serving on the LTER National Advisory Board from 1998-2007 and as chair from 1998-2005. The LTER Network benefited from his wise counsel on many occasions, and we will greatly miss his advice and ideas.
Paul’s family suggests contributions to the Paul G. Risser Scholarship Fund at the University of Oklahoma.Checks may be written to the University of Oklahoma Foundation, 100 Timberdell Rd., Norman, OK 73019.
See more at: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/oklahoman/obituary.aspx?n=PAUL-RISSER&pid=171685469#sthash.wX6YwhV7.dpuf
Watch the Plenary presentation on LTER context for the 2006 LTER ASM meeting by Paul Risser.