FIELD NOTES

The University of Oklahoma Biological Station (UOBS) and the Friends of UOBS are sad to report the sudden death of one of our dear friends and supporters, Bruce G. Stewart.   Bruce passed away on 1 November 2011 while attending to his many duties as teacher/mentor at Murray State College in Tishomingo, OK.

Bruce received his B.S.Ed. in Biology from East Central U. in Ada.  He then went on to pursue his M.S. in Biology at Northeast Louisiana State U. in Monroe (currently U. of Louisiana at Monroe), followed by graduate work at OU and Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge.

For many years, Bruce was a beloved colleague and friend to many at UOBS, and he was an instructor for a number of years in the Station’s Summer Session program offering such courses as Natural History of the Vertebrates.  Since 2005, Bruce had also served as a member of the FUOBS Executive Committee.  He had a true love for the natural world and field biology.  In particular, he had a strong affection for streams and fishes of the Arbuckle Mountains and southern Oklahoma, and was also a dedicated ornithologist.  Also, he freely made his own property on Byrd Mill Creek available to many OU and UOBS classes.

In 1983, he became an instructor of Biology at Murray State College, and in 2005, he was named as Professor of Biological Sciences.  Over a number of years, he served as head of the Science Department, most recently as Chair of the Department of Science and Mathematics since 2008.  During his career, Bruce also offered field courses at East Central U., the Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos in Cuernavaca (Mexico), and at the Universidad de Leon (Nicaragua).

He received a number of awards and honors over the years.  Most recently, he was awarded the 2011 Robert L. Packard Outstanding  Educator Award of the Southwestern Association of Naturalists (SWAN). 

Donations in Bruce’s memory to establish a scholarship fund can be made through the Murray State College Foundation. Anyone wishing to make a donation should contact Dr. Brenda Stacy, MSC Foundation Director.

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