Former University Professor of Biological Sciences Remembered

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Douglas Arthur James, 93, of Fayetteville, passed away on Dec. 17, 2018 at the Willard Walker Hospice Home. He is survived by his beloved wife, Elizabeth Mary Adam, and his three daughters, Sigrid K., Helen F. and Avis C.

James was a long-time fixture in the Department of Biological Sciences,at the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences who retired in 2016 after 64 years with the university. At his retirement, he had become the longest-serving professor in University of Arkansas history.

He served as a professor of biological sciences at the U of A from 1953 to 2016. He was also considered the authority on the birds of Arkansas, co-authoring Arkansas Birds with Joseph C. Neal in 1986. He became one of the state's leading conservationists in the second half of the last century, helping to start the Arkansas Audubon Society in 1955 and the Arkansas Audubon Society Trust in 1972.

James also arranged the first meeting of what would become the Ozark Society, which was responsible for saving the Buffalo River from damming.

Starting with studies of scrubland birds in northwestern Arkansas, James expanded to studying scrubland birds in Africa, Nepal and Belize. He is one of the few people to have been given three Fulbright International Scholars awards, and taught as a Fulbright Scholar in Ghana (1970-1971), Nepal (1981-1982) and Belize (1988-1989). He also spent spring of 1995 as a visiting scholar at Cambridge University in England.

James was born on July 25, 1925, in Detroit, Michigan. He was the first of two children of Sigrid and Arthur James. He attended the University of Michigan, receiving a B.S. in 1946 and an M.S. in 1947. At the University of Illinois, studying under the famous avian physiologist and ecologist S. C. Kendeigh, he completed a doctoral degree in 1957 on the ecology of roosting blackbirds.

In 1953, he was offered a position as the first ornithologist at the U of A by Samuel Dellinger, who at the time was head of the Department of Zoology. Prior to that, ornithology was taught at the U of A by William Baerg, a professor in the Department of Entomology. Between James and Baerg, until 2015 ornithology at the U of A was taught for nearly 90 years by just two professors.

Although not drafted during World War II because he failed the physical at the onset of the war, James was drafted into the Korean War on limited service upon arriving in Fayetteville in 1953. On a research grant with the U.S. Army Chemical Corps, he was assigned to the Biological Warfare Unit at the Pine Bluff Arsenal, where he and his first wife, Frances, conducted studies of fall and spring bird migration in their spare time.

In 1955, James and Frances helped form the Arkansas Audubon Society. He helped with writing the bylaws of the society, organized the first fall meeting, became the first newsletter editor, and initiated several of the annual awards bestowed by the society.

In 1972, James helped form the Arkansas Audubon Society Trust with the intention of funding avian research and conservation projects within Arkansas. One trust award was named the Douglas James Award, given annually to a project involving birds.

James was also the first curator of bird records for the Arkansas Audubon Society. While he was curator, he helped accumulate more than 30,000 bird records for Arkansas, which became the foundation for the book Arkansas Birds co-authored with Joseph C. Neal

James and Frances had three children. After they divorced, James married Elizabeth Adam, who became an indispensable help in his field of research. During his career at the U of A, James gave over 300 presentations at various meetings of scientific organizations. He mentored 83 graduate students, including 53 master's and 30 doctoral students.

A historical plaque placed outside the science-engineering building on the university campus notes the accomplishments in statistical ecology of James's lab and students. James published a total of 114 scientific articles and received 77 research grants from local and national agencies during his career.

James also filled nearly 150 field notebooks based on his research and travels: 106 from North America (mostly Arkansas), 24 from Central and South America, eight from Asia, seven from Africa, and four from Europe. He always told his students, "If you didn't record it, it never existed."

In 2002, James received the prestigious Charles and Nadine Baum Teaching Award, the highest award given by the University of Arkansas to a faculty member for teaching. Then, in 2004, James became the first faculty member in his department to receive the special appointment to University Professor of Biological Sciences.

He also received several lifetime achievement awards, including the W. Frank Blair Eminent Naturalist Award (2006) from the Southwestern Association of Naturalists, which recognizes excellence in a lifetime of commitment to outstanding study or conservation of the flora or fauna of the southwestern United States, Mexico and Central America; and the William and Nancy Klamm Service Award (2014) from the Wilson Ornithological Society, which honors the history of service and dedication to the society.

He received 14 awards for his excellence in teaching and research from various entities, both locally and nationally, as well as an international teaching award. In 2018, the Ozark Society honored James with the Neil Compton Award.

When he retired in 2016, he was widely known for his sense of humor and his dismay at the rise of grade inflation — he often told his classes that he finished his B.S. degree with a 2.9 grade-point average but still led the graduation march.

James was also an avid runner for most of his life, having run 10 marathons.

A celebration of James's life will be announced at a later time. Information will be available on the Moore's Chapel website at www.mooresfuneralchapel.com.