Dear Colleagues,

I share with you the sad news that Professor Emeritus Ruth Phillips of the Biological Sciences Department passed away in late 2020. Ruth enjoyed a 31-year career at UWM from 1970-2001, teaching and sharing her knowledge with thousands of students, and securing multiple grants for her groundbreaking research in Salmonid Genetics. She authored and co-authored over 100 published articles, and she enjoyed an international reputation, traveling and giving talks at conferences all over the world including Europe, Japan, Australia, and Chile. She earned her BA in Biology at Swarthmore College in 1962, her MA at University of Indiana in 1964 and her PhD at University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana in 1966.

In her later years, between 2001-2015, Ruth joined the faculty at Washington State University-Vancouver part-time and continued her writing and research. After retirement, Ruth was an active volunteer for a wide variety of environmental organizations.

For more information, see Ruth’s memorial website. She is survived by her husband Roger Phillips (professor emeritus of UWM Slavic Languages), brother George Brosi, and her daughters Robin Phillips Occhipinti and Carol Phillips. We share our condolences with Ruth’s family and the many others whose lives she touched.

Take care,

Johannes

Johannes Britz
Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs