A memorial service for Professor Emeritus of Biology Jim White will be held Saturday, Feb. 20 at 1 p.m. in Norton Chapel.
The service will include remarks by College President Joseph G. Burke and Professor of Chemistry and Physics Tom Carroll. A reception will follow in the lobby of Jephson Science Building.
White died Jan. 15 at age 74.
White joined the Keuka faculty in 1962 and served as chair of the Division of Natural Sciences, Mathematics, and Physical Education from 1968 to 1997. He retired in 2008.
“Jim White touched thousands of lives during his 46 years on the faculty,” said Burke. “He inspired his students and faculty colleagues and was part of the fabric of the Jephson Science Center. His impact on our curriculum; the Division of Natural Sciences, Mathematics, and Physical Education; and the College was immeasurable and will be felt for years to come.”
In a feature on White, published in KC Currents, the College’s online publication, prior to his retirement, Carroll said White was “an excellent teacher and generous, loyal and faithful to his faculty. He’s selfless—generous for the sake of being generous. So many others give when there’s something in it for them; Jim just helps.”
That was evident when Millspaugh Science Center was renovated in 2000-01 and became Jephson Science Center. He was the lead faculty member in the renovation, according to Carroll, and even measured space in the new chemistry lab to discover that benches from the original chemistry lab—first housed on the fourth floor of Hegeman Hall—would fit in the room.
“He’d show up in overalls on the days when he was helping [work on the building]. One time he came into my office with a crowbar to ask if I wanted anything saved from the walls before the painters began their work,” said Carroll, White’s colleague for 26 years.
“He’s the father of this building,” said Professor of Biology Joan Magnusen in a story on White in the spring 2001 edition of Keuka magazine. “Not only does Jim decide what needs to be done, but he does it.”
Professor of Biology Marianne Jahnke said White had an “encyclopedic” knowledge of biology and credits him with shaping the division.
“He was division chair when many of us were hired, so he had a profound impact on who came to Keuka,” said Jahnke, who called White “a warm friend and colleague.”
White’s dedication to Keuka didn’t stop at the doors to Jephson Science Building.
“In my 12 years at Keuka, I never attended an open house where Jim wasn’t among the first to arrive—as much as two hours ahead of time—to talk with prospective students and their parents,” said Chief Operating Officer/Executive Vice President Carolanne Marquis.
White also set a strong example of social responsibility. He was a volunteer for the Branchport/Keuka Fire Department for 40 years and served as chief many times.
Memorials may be made to The White Scholarship Endowment Fund, 141 Central Ave., Keuka Park, N.Y., 14478.
