[PCA] =?X-UNKNOWN?Q?NEWS=3A_Richard_Hale_Goodwin_-_died_6_July_?= =?X-UNKNOWN?Q?2007=A0=28Early=A0TNC=A0President=29?=

[Olivia Kwong]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Eyster-Smith, Nancy
Sent: 8/13/2007 1:42:47 AM
Subject: NEBC member for 77 years - Richard Hale Goodwin - died 6 July 2007


Richard H. "Dick" Goodwin became a member of the New England Botanical 
Club on December 5th, 1930.  He was the oldest (96 years) and longest 
NEBC member (77 years) at the time of his death, and he had attended our 
1999 symposium for the centennial of Rhodora, NEBC’s journal.  Below are 
4 links that provide details on different aspects of Dr. Goodwin's life 
and accomplishments.

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/obituaries/articles/2007/07/17/richard_h_goodwin_96_led_nature_conservancy/
The Boston Globe 17 July 2007 obituary by Dennis Hevesi, includes 
photograph. (New York Times obituary is the same.)

http://www.nature.org/aboutus/leadership/art21877.html
The Nature Conservancy – Dick Goodwin was a co-founder of the TNC in 1951 
and served as its president twice (1956-58; 1964-1966).

http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-goodwin23jul23,1,1958285.story?coll=la-news-obituaries&ctrack=1&cset=true
LA Times -- 23 July 2007 - Connection to California conservation.

http://aspen.conncoll.edu/news/3537.cfm
Connecticut College where he was Department of Botany chair for 21 years 
-- see below.

Richard H. Goodwin, early land preservationist and Connecticut College 
professor, dies at 96

July 06, 2007

NEW LONDON, Conn. - Richard H. Goodwin, land preservationist, past 
president of the Nature Conservancy and Katharine Blunt Professor 
Emeritus of Botany at Connecticut College, died on July 6, 2007. He was 96.

Goodwin was an early leader in the field of land preservation, and served 
as the president of the Nature Conservancy from 1956-58 and again from 
1964-66. In 1960, Goodwin negotiated the then-largest deal in the 
organization's history, protecting 6,500 forested acres on the California 
coast.

Goodwin led the effort to create and then expand the Burnham Brook 
Preserve in East Haddam, Conn., which today totals more than 1,200 acres. 
He himself donated his home and property on Dolbia Hill to add to the 
preserve, which is now used specifically for scientific research.

Goodwin served as professor of botany and chair of the botany department 
at Connecticut College from 1944 until 1976, and helped the college 
create one of the nation's first environmental studies programs - then 
called human ecology - in 1969. Goodwin also oversaw the growth of the 
college's arboretum from 90 acres to more than 400 acres. Today the 
arboretum comprises more than 750 acres.

At Connecticut College, Goodwin was actively involved in research on the 
physiology of root growth, the florescent compounds in plants and the 
effects of light on plant growth. He published numerous articles and 
regularly gave speeches about his research and his work in land conservation.

The Connecticut College Goodwin-Niering Center for Conservation Biology 
and Environmental Studies was founded in 1993 and renamed in 1999 in 
honor of Goodwin and William A. Niering, the Lucretia L. Allyn Professor 
Emeritus of Botany at Connecticut College. Niering and Goodwin co-founded 
the Connecticut chapter of the Nature Conservancy.

Goodwin also established the Conservation and Research Foundation, an 
independent venture launched in 1953 to offer seed grants to scientists 
and others seeking to study and preserve the natural environment.

Goodwin's autobiography, "A Botanist's Window on the Twentieth Century," 
was published in 2002 by Harvard Forest in Petersham, Mass. In it, 
Goodwin describes growing from a sickly child into a young man with an 
insatiable passion for the environment.

Goodwin studied botany and zoology at Harvard University, graduating with 
a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in biology in 1933 and 1934, 
respectively. He went on to earn his doctorate degree in biology with a 
concentration in botany, also from Harvard, in 1937.

Goodwin had a profound effect on his students. David Foster, who studied 
under Goodwin at Connecticut College and now teaches at Harvard, said 
Goodwin had a way of "putting small things into a very large context in a 
way that dealt with issues that really matter.

"On one hand, he's had a very simple life," Foster said. "On the other 
hand, he's led an incredibly rich and diverse life, and he's made some 
incredible contributions."

Connecticut College alumna Barbara Rice Kashansky noted Goodwin's 
commitment to teaching and to environmental stewardship.

"Before it was fashionable to be putting land aside, he was very much 
involved in the preservation of open space," she said. "In his quiet way, 
he reinforced this kind of caring in his students, and many have gone on 
to be quite influential in the field."

An avid traveler, Goodwin visited Cuba, Panama, Peru, China, New Zealand, 
Holland, Switzerland and Tanzania, among many other countries.

Goodwin is survived by the former Esther Bemis, his wife of 71 years, his 
daughter Mary Linder Wetzel, and his son Richard H. Goodwin, Jr. He had 
four grandchildren and two great grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held in New London at All Souls Unitarian 
Universalist Church, where the Goodwins are long-time members.

A memorial in Harkness Chapel at Connecticut College is planned for the fall.

The New England Botanical Club
Harvard University Herbaria, 22 Divinity Ave., Cambridge, MA 02138-2020
NEBC WEB SITE: http://www.rhodora.org/
Club Phone:  (617) 308-3656 (Ray Angelo)


NEBC Corresponding Secretary
Dr. Nancy M. Eyster-Smith, Department of Natural and Applied Sciences, 
Bentley College
175 Forest Street, Waltham, MA  02452-4705
(781) 891-2987    FAX (781) 891-2838    Email: neystersmith at bentley.edu