In Memoriam

Mark Sawyer, 45, died March 26 in Los Angeles. He was a professor in the UCLA departments of African American Studies and Political Science.

Noriko Akatsuka, who established the foundation for the Asian linguistics program in the UCLA Department of Asian Languages and Cultures, passed away on Oct. 17, 2016, in Santa Monica at the age of 79.

UCLA Campus Architect Jeffrey B. Averill, 61, who oversaw the design of every major campus building for 15 years and shepherded UCLA’s transformation into an environmentally friendly institution, died Feb. 27.

Leon Katz, 97, died Jan. 23 at his home in Encino from complications due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.  

Barbara Brudno joined the law school faculty in September 1968 and earned tenure about five years later.

Appleby, an emerita professor of history, was a nationally renowned historian who wrote prolifically about America’s founding fathers.

John Russell Cauble, 83, a professor emeritus in the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television who headed the multimillion-dollar renovation of Royce Hall auditorium in 1998 four years after the Northridge earthquake, died Wednesday, Dec. 7.

A Distinguished Professor of Linguistics, Schuh died Nov. 8 after an illness of several months. He was an outstanding member of the department in teaching, research and service.

A UCLA alumna and staff member for 28 years, Loh died on Nov. 5. She was 58.

Bill Zaima, UCLA's first women's tennis coach who served the team in different roles for 40 years, died Thursday, Nov. 17, in Los Angeles due to illness. He was 69.

Donald Findley, who transformed a financially ailing student organization, ASUCLA, into a thriving enterprise at UCLA , with his business acumen and vision for the campus, died Sunday, Nov. 13.

The late professor of Spanish and Portuguese is being honored at the UCLA Faculty Center.

Kimberly “Kim” Dawn Irwin, a media relations representative at UCLA's medical enterprise and former newspaper reporter, died Oct. 7 following a brief illness. She was 55.

Dr. Steven Graff-Radford, an adjunct professor in the Section of Oral Medicine and Orofacial Pain, died Saturday, October 15 from cancer.

Richard Maxwell, UCLA School of Law dean emeritus and Michael J. Connell Distinguished Professor of Law Emeritus, died Oct. 7 in Austin, Texas, on his 97th birthday.

Widely admired for her excellent teaching and extraordinary student mentorship, Donald died on Oct. 16 at the age of 43.

Donna F. Ver Steeg, a distinguished emerita professor from the UCLA School of Nursing, died of natural causes on Aug. 28 in Sacramento.

Distinguished scientists will speak at a day-long symposium honoring the late professor of astronomy for contributions he made to his field and his commitment to the environment.

The celebration will be held at UCLA’s Faculty Center on Friday, Sept. 9, starting at 4 p.m., and is open to the UCLA community.

Albert “Al” A. Barber, who served as vice chancellor of research programs at UCLA from 1971 to 1991, died at age 87 from lung cancer at his home in Upperville, Virginia, on July 30.

Mellinkoff, who transformed the fledgling UCLA School of Medicine into a nationally recognized academic institution, died on July 17 at age 96.

Author, critic and UCLA emerita English professor Carolyn See, 82, died July 13 in Santa Monica as a result of congestive heart failure.

Ren Mao, director of application development, died July 4 in Los Angeles of cancer. He was 37 years old. 

Richard Wain Young, 86, professor emeritus of anatomy, died May 18 surrounded by family members at his home in Hollywood. For more than 55 years, he worked at the medical school at UCLA and published his last book, “Human Origins and Evolution,” in 2014.

Jimmie D. White, 68, who served as a counselor, administrator and attorney advisor in UCLA Student Affairs for 35 years, died in Los Angeles on May 27 of cancer.