Marye Anne was born on December 9, 1947 in Canton, Ohio to Charles and Lucille Payne. She was inspired by the events surrounding the Soviet launch of the Sputnik satellite in the 1950s to take an interest in science, even as a grade schooler. An excellent student, Marye Anne was elected ‘Teenager of the Year’ by the local Canton newspaper in 1965. She was guided by the principle that one must ‘wish and work’. She was a dedicated and lifelong friend to her younger sister Betsy.
Her life was non-stop. She earned higher degrees in chemistry, including her Ph.D. from Dartmouth College in 1974, when significant barriers existed for women pursuing careers in science. She served as one of the first female scientists to champion the advancement of women in science, and she continued to do so well into her retirement. During her higher education and at the onset of her academic career, she had three sons with her first husband, John Fox.
Her academic pursuits were diverse but rooted in photochemistry and electrochemistry. As her career blossomed, she was greatly aided by several Texas chemistry colleagues, including Michael Dewar, Norman Hackerman, Al Cotton, and Alan Bard. In the mid 1980s she was honored with the Teaching Excellence Award by the UT College of Natural Sciences, became director of the Center for Fast Kinetics Research and was named Rowland Pettit Centennial Professor at UT. In 1990s, Marye Anne became the first UT chemist to hold the M. June and J. Virgil Waggoner Regents Chair in Chemistry (1991) and was elected a member of both the National Academy of Sciences (1994) and the American Philosophical Society (1996). Her list of peer reviewed publications, book chapters, textbooks, visiting professorships, honors, awards and lectureships related to her academic career is almost overwhelming.
Marye Anne’s career arc transitioned from the organic chemistry laboratories and lecture halls to university administration in 1994, when she was appointed Vice President for Research at UT. She left Austin for Raleigh in 1998 to become the chancellor of North Carolina State University, where she oversaw significant growth and eventually had a building named after her – aptly, the Marye Anne Fox Science Teaching Laboratory. She moved to La Jolla, California in 2004 to lead University of California San Diego, where she served as chancellor until her retirement in 2012.
Marye Anne was a public servant and leader beyond academia and worked hard to advance science policy in the United States, irrespective of politics. She was appointed to the National Science Board by then President George H.W. Bush and was awarded the National Medal of Science by former President Barack Obama. She also served on several corporate boards over the span of her career, including service for W.R. Grace & Co, Bridgepoint Education and Red Hat.
Along the way, Marye Anne met her second husband, Jim Whitesell, with whom she shared many adventures over their decades together. With three sons from her first marriage and two from Jim’s, both Marye Anne and Jim have held true to the importance of family. She was deeply invested in the success of her children, and was extremely proud of each of their accomplishments, professionally and especially in family life. Jim was always a stalwart of support for Marye Anne: in her academic and administrative career, as a friend and passionate debater at the dinner table, in sickness and in health.
Marye Anne is survived by her husband Jim; sons Robert (Christine), Michael (Stephanie) and Matthew (Sarah); step-sons Chris (Shannon) and Robert (Jeana Lee); 13 grandchildren; and 2 great-grandchildren. She has helped every life she has touched and all of us will miss her deeply.
Marye Anne, be with God.
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