In memory of Bill Schaffer (1945-2021)

William (Bill) Schaffer, Emeritus Professor of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, passed away on January 16th, 2021. 

 

Bill received his PhD at Princeton University in 1972, and arrived at The University of Arizona in 1975 as one of the first faculty members in the new Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. Bill was a giant in the field of ecology. Early in his career he made fundamental contributions to the development of life history theory. Subsequently he became renowned for his pioneering application of nonlinear dynamics to understanding population and community-level phenomena. In recent years he passionately pursued an interest in the natural history and dynamics of disease. Bill was a fierce and outspoken advocate throughout his career for both science and education. He mentored exceptional graduate students and was a devoted instructor for many years in Introductory Biology, taking particular pride in the students who took his Honors discussion section. He will be greatly missed by the EEB community, and by ecologists worldwide. 

 

A "Resolution of Respect" for Bill Schaffer, written by Mike Rosenzweig and two of Bill's graduate students, Gordon Fox and Jessica Gurevich, will be appearing in the Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America. The piece is both a biography and a review of Bill's research and teaching career.