Dr. Paul Buck, Professor Emeritus, University of Tulsa

(Recipient of 2006 OAS Lifetime Achievement Award)

 

Long time OAS member, Dr. Paul Buck, passed away on January 16, 2008. During the almost 50 years Paul was a member of OAS, he served as Biology Section Chair, President, and Executive Secretary-Treasurer. Paul was honored by the Academy at the 2006 technical meeting and the statement below, composed by Dr. Ron Tyrl, was found in the meeting program. It provides a brief description of Paul’s contributions and why he will be remembered.

 

Dr. Paul Buck is an individual who typifies each and every facet of the Academy’s Statement of Purpose that appears on the inside cover of this program. He has had a profound influence on students, fellow scientists, and the general public. As a teacher, he has given countless students an appreciation of botany and the environment. He has inspired many to become field biologists, teachers, or researchers in other disciplines. With respect to the public, he was instrumental in the formation of the Oklahoma Native Plant Society, which has now grown to more than 500 members across the state, and for years, has made botanical phenomena meaningful to all via his quarterly column titled “Botany Bay” in the Gaillardia, the newsletter of the Society, as well as his many lectures/presentations on Oklahoma’s ecogeography and flora. As a scientist, his book Distribution and Identification of Woody Plants of Oklahoma in the Winter Condition has been a resource used by countless individuals becoming acquainted with the woody flora. He was instrumental in the formation of the consortium of state botanists presently writing a manual for identification of the state’s vascular flora. In addition, as a field trip leader, section chair, President, and Executive-Treasurer, he has been an active participant in the Academy for decades. It is most appropriate that his work to advance scientific endeavors in Oklahoma be formally recognized in the form of the Academy’s Lifetime Achievement Award.