In Memoriam: Douglas G. Stuart
Douglas G. Stuart
Douglas G. Stuart, Regents' Professor Emeritus of Physiology and a founding faculty member in the College of Medicine – Tucson, died April 6 at the age of 87.
Stuart joined the College of Medicine as an associate professor in 1967. He was promoted to professor in 1970 and served as chair of the Department of Physiology from 1988 to 1991. He was named a Regents' Professor in 1990 and served as the College of Medicine's associate dean for research from 1991 to 1996.
Originally from Australia, Stuart was a track-and-field athlete and competed in the high-jump event in the British Empire Games in Auckland, New Zealand, in 1950, and the British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Vancouver, Canada, in 1954.
Stuart's career as an educator began in 1951 when he worked as a high school physical education teacher outside Sydney, according to a biography provided by the Department of Physiology. He attended Michigan State University on a track-and-field scholarship, earning a Bachelor of Science in 1955 and a Master of Science a year later. He earned a doctorate in physiology from UCLA in 1961.
Stuart received international recognition for his research on spinal motor mechanisms and their relation to tremors, locomotion, muscle fatigue and the control of movement. Stuart authored more than 145 published research articles and 80 chapters, reviews and symposium volumes.
Physiology department head Nicholas Delamere wrote that Stuart embraced his role as a mentor, "spent countless hours providing guidance to trainees" and helped many early-career faculty members establish their academic careers.
"Doug left his mark on the discipline of neurophysiology, the University of Arizona and the Department of Physiology," Delamere wrote. "He also left his mark on us, his friends. It was an honor and privilege to know Doug. He will be greatly missed."
In another tribute, Raphael Gruener, a professor emeritus in the Department of Physiology and another College of Medicine founding faculty member, wrote that Stuart was among the early shapers of the UA's interdisciplinary and collaborative research culture.
"Doug's fruitful career at the UA was punctuated by numerous actions which shaped the University's research, teaching, and administration for decades," Gruener wrote.
Stuart is survived by sons Monty Stuart and Dan Stuart; daughters Kathy Lohse and Cindy Sadowsky; six grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.
The Department of Physiology will hold "A Celebration of the Life and Doings of Professor Douglas G. Stuart" on May 13, from 4-5:30 p.m., in Old Main's Silver and Sage Room. A scientific symposium will also be held in Stuart's honor, featuring many of his colleagues and trainees. Details about the symposium are forthcoming.
For more information about the event, contact Marlise Bourland, executive assistant in the Department of Physiology, at 520-626-7642 or marlisef@email.arizona.edu.
The UA Health Sciences Development Office and the UA Foundation have established the Douglas G. Stuart Mentoring Initiative fund to honor Stuart's legacy of research, teaching and service. To donate, visit the UA Foundation website.