Donald J. Farish (December 7, 1942 – July 5, 2018) was a

Canadian American Canadian Americans is a term that can be applied to Citizenship of the United States, American citizens whose ancestry is wholly or partly Canadians, Canadian, or citizens of either country that hold dual citizenship. The term ''Canadian'' can ...

biologist and zoologist who served as the 10th president of

Roger Williams University Roger Williams University (RWU) is a private university in Bristol, Rhode Island. Founded in 1956, it was named for theologian and Rhode Island cofounder Roger Williams (theologian), Roger Williams. The school enrolls over 5,000 students and e ...

Bristol, Rhode Island Bristol is a town in Bristol County, Rhode Island, US as well as the historic county seat. The town is built on the traditional territories of the Pokanoket Wampanoag. It is a deep water seaport named after Bristol, England. The population of B ...

. He was president of

Rowan University Rowan University is a public research university in Glassboro, New Jersey, with a medical campus in Stratford and medical and academic campuses in Camden. It was founded in 1923 as Glassboro Normal School on a site donated by 107 residents. ...

Glassboro, New Jersey Glassboro is a borough in Gloucester County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the borough's population was 18,579,Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

, Manitoba, Canada, in 1942 and moved to

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

at age 16. He won a scholarship through a national competition to become the first member of his family to attend college. He earned a bachelor's degree from the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

in 1963, majoring in

zoology Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...

, and a master's degree from

North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The universit ...

in 1966, majoring in

entomology Entomology () is the science, scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such ...

. He earned a doctorate in

biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...

from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

in 1970, studying under the eminent biologist E.O. Wilson. He earned a law degree from the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Universit ...

in 1976, and he completed studies at Harvard University's Institute for Educational Management in 1992.

Academic career

Farish taught at the

from 1968 to 1979, becoming chair of the Physiology and Behavior Section of the Division of Biological Sciences. He served as an assistant dean and an associate dean at the

University of Rhode Island The University of Rhode Island (URI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Kingston, Rhode Island, United States. It is the flagship public research as well as the land-grant university of the state of Rhode Island ...

’s College of Arts and Sciences from 1979 to 1983. He worked at

Sonoma State University Sonoma State University (SSU, Sonoma State, or Sonoma) is a public university in Rohnert Park in Sonoma County, California, US. It is one of the smallest members of the California State University (CSU) system. Sonoma State offers 92 Bachelor's d ...

from 1983 to 1998, rising to Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs after serving as dean of the School of Natural Sciences. In 1998, Farish became the sixth president of

, a public research university in

Glassboro, New Jersey Glassboro is a borough in Gloucester County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the borough's population was 18,579,Roger Williams University Roger Williams University (RWU) is a private university in Bristol, Rhode Island. Founded in 1956, it was named for theologian and Rhode Island cofounder Roger Williams (theologian), Roger Williams. The school enrolls over 5,000 students and e ...

, a forward-thinking private university with campuses on the coast of

and in the heart of downtown

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...

. Farish died while still in office on July 5, 2018.

References

External links

Donald J. Farish: Biography, Roger Williams University

Donald J. Farish: Biography, Rowan University
{{DEFAULTSORT:Farish, Donald J. 1942 births 2018 deaths Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni University of Missouri School of Law alumni Presidents of Roger Williams University Roger Williams University faculty Rowan University faculty People from Winnipeg People from Woodbury, New Jersey North Carolina State University alumni University of British Columbia alumni University of Rhode Island faculty Sonoma State University faculty Heads of universities and colleges in the United States