Longtime biology professor passes away

Longtime biology professor passes awayFebruary 17, 2005Edward Byrnesedbyrnes@syr.edu

Jack Bryan, 68, Syracuse University professor of biology, died at his home on Feb. 5. He joined the SU faculty in 1964 and taught biochemistry and plant physiology, specializing in proteins and enzymes. He was a devoted teacher particularly interested in graduate education. His research in plant biochemistry and physiology focused on amino acid biosynthesis, nitrogen metabolism and enzyme regulation, and was funded for many years by the National Science Foundation. He was invited to present his research at several national and international meetings, was a member of numerous professional societies and served on the editorial boards of two plant physiology journals.

“In all his endeavors, Jack displayed integrity, steadfast reliability and a commitment to excellence. He was deeply devoted to the Department of Biology and to SU,” says H. Richard Levy, professor emeritus of biology at SU.

Bryan received his B.S. from Butler University in Indianapolis in 1958 and his Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin in 1962. Before coming to SU, he was a post-doctoral fellow for two years in the Department of Botany at the University of Washington in St. Louis, Mo.

He served on numerous departmental, college and University committees, including The College of Arts and Sciences Tenure Committee, which he chaired for two years, and the University’s Board of Graduate Studies. He served with four different chairs as the associate chair of the Department of Biology. In that capacity he performed a wide range of administrative services in several critical areas, including coordinating renovation of the department’s Lyman Hall facilities, a six-year effort begun in the late 1980s. As part of that project, he designed 30,000 square feet of new instructional and research laboratories and support facilities. Bryan also oversaw the department’s graduate program for many years. As chair of the department’s Graduate Education Committee, he was instrumental in the maintenance of the highest academic standards and the movement of students toward the completion of their degrees.

Bryan organized the department’s annual Adirondacks Molecular Biology and Genetics Conferences from 1979-92. These influential meetings brought together graduate students, post-doctoral fellows and faculty from SU and other universities in the Northeastern United States and Canada. For the past 10 years, Bryan was extensively involved in alumni affairs, creating the department’s annual alumni newsletter, BIO@SU, and developing an extensive database of hundreds of departmental alumni. Bryan also played a key role in creating the department’s Alumni Advisory Board, which consists of prominent alumni dedicated to assisting the department with funding, job placement and shaping its goals through annual meetings with faculty, graduate students and administrators.

Bryan was an ardent SU basketball fan, a keen racquetball player, an automobile enthusiast and an animal lover. He is survived by his wife of 47 years, Pat; sister Joanne McDaniel; brother, Edward Bryan; and several nieces and nephews. Services will be private. Contributions in his name may be made to any animal service society or to Hospice of Central New York, 990 Seventh North St., Liverpool, N.Y. 13088.