William Alexander Calder III

William Alexander Calder III, UA ecology and evolutionary biology professor and expert on hummingbirds, died April 23 after a short battle with leukemia. He was 67.

he had a reputation as a caring, passionate, funny man among his colleagues at the University of Arizona.

Calder began teaching at UA in 1969. As the author of numerous scientific papers and textbook chapters and a fellow of the American Academy of Sciences, he was nationally and internationally recognized as an expert on hummingbirds.

Calder rode his bicycle everywhere and was in great shape, so his death came as a surprise, said Bruce Walsh, the assistant head of the department of ecology and evolutionary biology.

ãBill was an exceptionally generous, warm and open person. He lived life according to his ideals,ä said Brian Enquist, an assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology who co-taught the Scaling in Biology course with Calder.

Enquist noted that Calder made some of the fundamental discoveries in that field.

ãThere are too few Bill Calders in the world,ä said Cecil Shwalbe, a professor of Renewable and Natural Resources who knew Calder for nearly 30 years.

Shwalbe and Walsh said Calder was extremely concerned with conserving natural resources and lived a minimal-impact lifestyle.

ãBill Calder was just a wonderful human being above all else. He just had these great human values,ä Shwalbe said.

Calder was known both for his unprecedented scientific work and his sense of humor.

Shwalbe said Calder took science seriously, but never himself.

ãHe could laugh at himself,ä said Walsh.

Calder was a pilot in the U.S. Coast Guard, a smokejumper for the Forest Service and park ranger and naturalist in Grand Teton and Glacier National Parks.

Calder supported opportunities for women and minorities in academic biology and established several scholarships to broaden academic opportunities.

One of the stories told about Calder at his memorial service was about a young woman studying at the UA from a foreign country. It was told that she came to Calder crying because her parents were forcing her to go home for financial reasons.

They said they could only afford to send one child to college, and it was going to be her brother. As told, Calder asked the secretary to begin paperwork for him to adopt the student.

ãThat is the kind of thing Bill would do,ä Walsh said.

Another story relayed by Walsh from Mondayâs service is that one semester, Calderâs class was in danger of being canceled but he only needed a couple of more students. Calder registered himself for his class to stop the problem.

ãHe was a character,ä Walsh said.

A ãCelebration of Lifeä service was held Monday at the Tucson Botanical Gardens. Between 300 and 400 people attended the service.

Contributions may be made to the many conservation and social justice organizations the that were important to him, including the Audubon Society Educational Fund and the Nature Conservancy.