You reached this page through the archive. Click here to return to the archive.

Note: This article is over a year old and information contained in it may no longer be accurate. Please use the contact information in the lower-left corner to verify any information in this article.

Professor emeritus Alice Burton dies

By David Gonnerman '90
April 23, 2010

Alice Burton, professor emeritus of biology, died this week at her home in Northfield at age 75. Her funeral has been scheduled for April 29.

Burton joined the St. Olaf faculty in 1970 and became the college's first female full professor in biology in 1988. At St. Olaf she performed research through Research Corporation and National Science Foundation grants, and directed the college's Howard Hughes Medical Institute program that used a major grant to better prepare students for graduate and medical schools.

She also is remembered for her efforts to help St. Olaf increase the number of women on the faculty. By 1991 half of the St. Olaf biology faculty were women, one of whom chaired the department — a fact that Burton cited at the time as "unusual for a college."

During her 1996 Honors Day address (the year she retired), Burton called students her chief source of "rock solid support" and encouraged listeners "to be alert to what we can contribute to the progress of others."

Contact David Gonnerman at 507-786-3315 or gonnermd@stolaf.edu.