With a heavy heart, we announce the passing of our colleague Robert J. (“Bob”) Huskey. His family offers a touching obituary that might remind you of his outsized presence at The University.

Bob’s research involved developing Volvox as a model system for genetics, developmental biology and of course the origins of multicellularity (e.g. Sessoms and Huskey 1973, PNAS, or Huskey and Griffins, 1979, Developmental Biology).    

For many years, Bob taught Human Biology (along with Fred Diehl) using a then innovative tool known as the world-wide web, and you can still peruse his course and other musings if you follow the web archives. He then collaborated with Reg Garrett in teaching Introductory Biology. Bob Huskey was Associate Dean of the Graduate School where he was particularly dedicated to the betterment of graduate students in their professional and personal lives, among other things advocating for affordable health care. The eponymous Huskey Research Awards have supported many of our students over the years. He retired from the University in 2001.

Our thanks go out to Bob for his service to our Department and the University, and our hearts go out to his friends and family during this time of transition for them.

Photo credit: Havenbrook Funeral Home