Memorial Tribute to Honor
John Stewart Jan. 24 at UC San Diego

January 8, 2008

By Jan Jennings

A memorial tribute to John Lincoln Stewart, Provost Emeritus of John Muir College at the University of California, San Diego, will be held from 3 to 5 p.m. Jan. 24 in the Faculty Club on the UC San Diego campus. The public is invited.

Stewart, who died Aug. 31 after a long illness, was the founding provost of Muir College and a champion of preserving the environment. He came to UC San Diego in 1964 and the following year was appointed Provost of Second College, soon renamed John Muir College after the famed environmentalist, nature writer and Sierra Club founder.

“John was a charismatic man whose vision profoundly shaped Muir College’s core values,” notes Susan Smith, current Provost of Muir College who will emcee the program. These values include the belief  that students are best served when they exercise individual choice and responsibility in crafting their own general education programs, the importance of the college as a close-knit, supportive community, and the preservation of the environment as a guiding theme.

Speakers at the event will include UCSD Chancellor Marye Anne Fox; Arthur Wagner, professor emeritus, Department of Theatre and Dance; Tom Bond, provost emeritus, Revelle College; Lynn Huntsinger, professor, Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, UC Berkeley, and Leslie Chalmers and Andrew Quinn, Stewart’s daughter and step son.

The Cameron Highlanders will play Amazing Grace at the end of the program and the Rob Thorsen Trio will entertain during the reception following the program.

Stewart was born in 1917 in Alton, Illinois. He graduated from Denison University in Granville, Ohio, with a double major in English and music and received a doctorate in English literature at Ohio State University. He served in World War II in the Army Signal Corps and taught English at UCLA and Dartmouth before joining the UC San Diego faculty. He was a supporter of many environmental, educational and arts programs.

Media Contacts:
Jan Jennings, 858-822-1684 or
Pat JaCoby, 858-534-7404