Professor Emeritus B.J. Williams passes away

Dear Colleagues,I regret to inform you that Bob Williams, known to us as B. J., one of our Professors Emeritus, has passed away. He was a biological anthropologist specializing in population genetics who carried out research among the Birhor of India and wrote an early textbooks in the field, “Evolution and Human Origins: An Introduction to Physical Anthropology” (1973), as well as a number of provocative and critical papers. He regularly taught the courses Anthropology 1 (Principles of Human Evolution: Genetic Basis) and Anthropology 11 (Evolution of Man) to classes of 400 and more students. He also trained numerous graduate students and served on the Board of the American Anthropological Association. Having received his PhD from the University of Michigan, he joined the Department in 1965. He retired in 1991.After retiring from UCLA, Bob bought a ranch in Northern California with his wife Charlene, where they raised beef cattle and maintained a highly active life for 25 years. He had hosted Thanksgiving dinner at his ranch house only a week and a half before he died peacefully in his sleep on December 6, 2015.Bob was very involved in various community activities in the Redding area. Two of his favorite charities were the Shasta Library Foundation and the North State Symphony. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to either of these causes in his memory.Shasta Library FoundationPO Box 993366Redding, CA  96099-3366North State Symphony400 West First StreetCSU Chico 95929-0805 Sincerely,Nancy E. LevineProfessor and Chair