|
 |
|
|
|
|
David William Green (1942-2007)
Dr. David W. Green, Albion College alumnus of 1964, passed away October 27, 2007. While at Albion College, he was a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon, the Chemistry Club, the Physics Club and many other clubs and organizations. He was the first winner of the Putnam Award, given to the student with the most outstanding record at the end of their second year. After Albion College, David went to the University of California at Berkeley were he earned his Ph.D. with Professor Leo Brewer. After Berkeley, David served a postdoctoral research assistant with Nobel Laureate Robert Mullikan at the University of Chicago in Chicago, Illinois. After his postdoc, he returned to Albion College to pursue his passion of teaching. He was an adjunct professor at Albion College in the Fall of 1971. He left Albion College for a job at Argonne National Labs as an analytical chemist, but returned to Albion several times as an adjunct professor (1973-1974 and then again in 2001-2006) to help the Chemistry Department when he was needed. During his time at Argonne labs, Dave started out as a staff scientist, but rose to become the Manager of the Analytical Chemistry Laboratories in the Chemical Technology Division. Dave was for many years editor of ALMA, the journal of the Analytical Laboratory Manager's Association. While at Argonne, he returned to school and earned an MBA from the University of Chicago's Executive MBA program. In 2005, he was awarded the first Outstanding Lab Manager of the Year Award by ALMA. David Green was a respected professor and friend to everyone. He was best known for his long hours and the attention that he lavished on the students. He could be found in his office at all hours of the night, ready to answer questions about homework and problem sets. He set standards in speed of grading that are still talked about in the Chemistry Department. Students and professors alike were amazed when exams were handed back the next day with a full analysis of grade distributions.
Dr. Green kept everything "Green" around his office. Kermit the Frog was a guest in the analytical labs that he taught and kept everyone company during titrations and ICP analyses. His office door was decorated with magazine quotes. "Green Chemistry," "Green is Good" and "It's not easy being Green" are just a few that he moved from office to office.
He was a firm believer in the power of chocolate on exam performance. "M&Ms are statistically proven to improve test scores" was a quote that his students all knew. A large bowl of M&Ms kept the introductory students company during final exams. Students were encouraged to come up and grab a handful to jog their memory. Visitors to his office were treated to a bowl of dark chocolate Hershey Kisses (wrapped in purple foil) and caramel Hershey Kisses (wrapped in gold foil). Even after David Green retired from Albion College in 2006, he visited the campus. He continued to attend football games and other sporting events. He was a devoted father and respected professor. He will be missed by all who knew him.
Share your favorite "Green" stories with us. Email Vanessa McCaffrey. (Please let me know if you don't wish me to post your stories and comments.) Dave Green's passing is a tremendous loss for the Green family and also for his friends everywhere. As an Argonne employee, I knew Dave Green as my supervisor, mentor, and a friend. Of the things I remember about Dave, the one that stands out in my mind is that he was a man of integrity. A methodical and a fair minded man, he always looked out for his employees and friends. His professional passions were to plan and then put forth all the effort required to achieve "good science". As Manager of Analytical Chemistry Laboratory, he took great satisfaction in getting staff promoted in a very timely manner and to see them advance in their career. Dave put in long hours and was always available to have a good chemical discussion. He was an avid golfer and at lunch time you always knew where Dave would be-- in the lunch room of the basement of Bldg. 205 playing chess. Dave will be missed and fondly remembered by his friends at Argonne and everywhere else. - Amrit S. Boparai I was absolutely shocked, as most people probably were when I heard about Dr. Green's death. I took Chemistry 121 my freshman year of college in 2001. I remember, like most freshman, I had a difficult time actually making it to a 8:00 am class and when I was consistently late, he bought me an alarm clock! I never forgot that and through out my college career we always had that running joke. - Lindsey Paskvan Dr. Green was never my professor. I didn't know him nearly as well as many of the other students around campus, but I did have the chance to work with him when I volunteered to help build Victory Park. We worked together to build the chimes set. It's not too often that you spend an hour with a person and the experience sticks with you forever, but that's the kind of person Dr. Green was. I told him I hated chemistry and that he would never see me in one of his classes, and he didn't, but that didn't mean that he forgot about me. Whenever I saw him around campus he stopped to say hi and he always remembered my name. He would even send greetings back with my friends that were in his classes. It takes a truly unique individual to care so much about other people. I am so glad that I had the honor of knowing such a man. My life is the better for having crossed paths with him. His life was taken too soon, perhaps as a message to all who knew him to appreciate those around us and to carry on his legacy of caring, teaching and giving of one's self. - Rachel Maria DuBridge '07 I met Dr. Green the second semester of my freshman year when he was teaching the lab component of my chemistry course. I was having so much trouble in the course and he would never allow me to give up, even after I would come to his office with the drop slip many times. He encouraged me not to give up and also made me realize how smart I really was and that chemistry was not so bad after all. It is not often that a professor would stay after hours or come in a bit early to help you with what you need and that is exactly what Dr. Green did. He did a lot to help motivate me, which allowed me to move even further. - Lauren Harmon '09 Dave Green and I played in the Chicago Industrial Chess League. He for Argonne and me for Lucent. He was one of my favorite opponents, routinely trouncing me in our too-infrequent matches. I always enjoyed talking with him before and after a game. Dave was truly a gentleman and a scholar. I miss him already. - Charles R. Dobrovolny, Lucent Technologies I never knew Dr. Green personally during my four years at Albion, but I certainly knew his reputation, and his passion. The kind of passion that if I had a chance to return to Albion as a student might convince me to become a chemistry major. I don’t know many of the students now but I do know and understand all of your pain. I lost my mentor and Albion professor Joe Stroud just days after I graduated in 2002. My deepest prayers and love are with all my fellow Britons. Please remember two other dear alums that I did know briefly in Dr. Green's daughter Brenda Green O'Connell, '99, and her husband, Patrick O'Connell, '99, who also were injured in the accident and are at Bronson Hospital in Kalamazoo. Albion dear Albion is a family and I share in your grief. - Larry Lloyd, '02 [David] returned to Albion College the same year I came here from MSU. Despite the fact that I was an unknown new "guy on the block", and he had historic ties to Albion, David always made me feel like I was part of the Albion family. Although we weren't in the same department, he and I shared many hours in the coffee house (with other faculty from the sciences) discussing such things as classes, students, and basketball - March Madness was always a fun period of the year! He was always full of humor, kindness, and genuine interest in the lives and futures of students and colleagues. Also, during late nights working in Palenske and Putnam, David was always ready to chat and answer the questions of a naive and new faculty member. David was a great professor, colleague, and friend that had an profound impact on Albion that shall forever stand the test of time. I shall miss him so much. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family, friends, and all who have been impacted by this genuine tragedy. - Darren Mason, Assistant Professor of Mathematics This man will truly be missed by all who knew him. Dr. Green was always willing to give his time to come to the Bonta Admission Center and talk with a prospective student. I do not remember the answer of "no" at any time I asked him to do this. He always made a point to stop into the office to look for me to say "Hi" after he had retired. I missed him on the past two Saturday's he was on campus, a loss for me. He was so proud of all of his ties to Albion College. He spent time looking for his mom's picture in her year book to share with me one day. He was so proud of Will '05. We shared lots to each other about Will and Jennifer (Bunde) Lessway '05 and all they have done since graduation in 2005. Jen was one of Dr. Green's students that had a struggle with Chemistry during her first year! He and I had a joke about her not being a Chem Major but an English Major instead. May God Bless all of his family in this time of their lives. - Martha Bunde, Admissions Dr. Green was an excellent teacher and mentor. I will never forget the summer that I did research for him through FURSCA. Not only did I learn a lot about being a good scientist, but he also taught me the importance of learning outside of the classroom. Every Friday Dr. Green took all of his students, Anjali, Kristin, Tamar, and myself on a field trip outside the lab. We went to the Binder Park Zoo, the Jackson Cascades, the Cook Nuclear Power Plant, and all the way up to Grand Rapids to see the Dead Sea Scrolls on display at the Public Museum. At the end of the summer he prepared a collage of pictures from these trips for each of us, which is just one example of his thoughtfulness. Dr. Green also became the faculty advisor for a student-run organization called Best Buddies. This organization pairs up members of the community who have intellectual disabilities with college students in one-on-one friendships. Dr. Green was an excellent advisor for this organization, playing a very active role. He attended almost every event and got to know most of the Buddies by name. Dr. Green was an incredible advisor, teacher and friend and I will never forget him or his devotion to others. - Ginny Cangelosi, '05 As a lost freshman I had Dr. Green as my lecture professor for 121, and long after I bid farewell to the chemistry department I kept Dr. Green as my advisor simply because it was my excuse to go back and visit him. I remember late at night when I would be stressing for his class and I would come in with a million and one questions and he would work through them with me so patiently. He really cared about his students. He used to tease me that I should have the construction workers reserve a room in the new science complex (since it was in the process of being redone at the time) for me and he would point to Kresge's second floor glass window, which is actually where I have studied ever since the building was completed. His logic was I spent so much time in the building I should have my own room. He was also one of the people that my sorority mom and I bonded over... he was one of our favorite professors and both of our advisor. I sincerely miss him, God Bless him! - Nicole Flood I never had Dr. Green for a class, but I got to know him very well during the summer of 2003 during my FURSCA research. One of my best friends and roommate that summer, Anjali Arora ('04) was working on her chemistry thesis and had a weekly dinner at Dr. Green's house. He invited me to join Anjali and the other chemistry students for their weekly dinners, even though I was working on my history thesis (I also hadn't had a chemistry class since high school). He was warm, funny, genuine, and engaging! He even tried to teach me some basics in Chemistry. By the end of the summer, he had volunteered--or I had volunteered him, we'll let history decide--to perform in my FURSCA presentation. In April 2004, right after my Elkin R. Isaac presentation, he surprised me with a certificate that dubbed me "Honorary Chemist of the Year." I was so tickled that he thought to do that. I scrounged around my old files this morning looking for the certificate, and I'm glad I found it! I think this story is only one tiny example indicative of Dr. Green's commitment to every student while a professor at Albion College. Thank you for letting me share. - Elizabeth Vogel, '04 I am so shocked to hear about Dr. Green. He was definitely one of my favorite professors at Albion. I always enjoyed chatting with him in class or in his office and he always had the best jokes. I am glad that I had the chance to be his student and I will remember him for his great teaching and fun personality. Please share my condolences with the Chemistry department and Dr. Green's family. - Crystal Ingison Keso, '03
Questions or comments? Please send e-mail to vmccaffrey@albion.edu
|
|||||||||||
|
Albion College ◦ Albion, Michigan
◦ 517/629-1000
| ||||||||||||
