University of California: In Memoriam, April 1963
James Blair Kendrick, Sr., Plant Pathology: Berkeley and Davis
| 1893-1962 | |
| Professor Emeritus | |
| Plant Pathologist in the Experiment Station, Emeritus |
James Blair Kendrick, Sr., Professor of Plant Pathology, Emeritus, died on May 30, 1962, at the age of sixty-eight. Professor Kendrick was born in Clover, South Carolina, August 13, 1893, and received his primary education in that community. He was awarded the B.S. degree by Clemson College in 1916, and the same year entered Iowa State University for graduate study. This was interrupted by a year of service in the United States Army during World War I. After his separation from the Army as a second lieutenant, he continued his training at Iowa State University and, upon receiving the M.S. degree in 1919, he accepted the position of Assistant Botanist in the Agricultural Experiment Station at Purdue University. In 1924 he returned to Iowa State University for further graduate study. After receiving the Ph.D. in 1925, he resumed his professional career at Purdue where he remained until July 1, 1927, when he became Associate Plant Pathologist in the Agricultural Experiment Station of the University of California.
On November 18, 1919, before taking up his position at Purdue, Professor Kendrick was married to Violet McDonald of Ames, Iowa. He leaves Mrs. Kendrick and three children: Mrs. Don (Elizabeth) Gale of Davis, California, Dr. James B. Kendrick, Jr., of Riverside, California, and Dr. Edgar L. Kendrick
Professor Kendrick was the pioneer plant pathologist of the Davis campus. He was the first of his profession to be permanently located at Davis, and he established there the first laboratory and greenhouse facilities devoted exclusively to the study of plant diseases. At Davis he continued his earlier interests in seed transmission of plant disease agents by demonstrating the roles of a seed-borne virus, a fungus pathogen, and two bacterial pathogens in the epidemiology of four destructive plant diseases. When an outbreak of bacterial ring rot of Irish potatoes threatened the industry in 1940, he showed by field and laboratory experiments that disease-free tubers were the only insurance against it. His studies of disease resistance aided materially in the development of disease-resistant varieties of important field crops.
Professor Kendrick had a broad and abiding understanding of the relationship and obligations of plant pathology to agriculture. He was acutely aware not only of the need for basic research in this field but also of the obligations to do aggressive research on current problems of the industry. He also had a clear understanding of the need to make reliable information available to growers. Toward this end he prepared semi-technical articles for agricultural publications and encouraged the expansion of the extension service in plant pathology.
Growth of the Department of Plant Pathology at Davis was steady, requiring more and more of Professor Kendrick's attention. As local chairman, he was keenly aware of the department's goals and responsibilities. He proved highly responsive to the needs of the agricultural industry for more information on plant disease problems, and he aided in the establishment of a comprehensive research program covering all areas and phases of plant pathology. He helped select the staff members and thereafter supported their research efforts.
After World War II, instruction in plant pathology at Davis again expanded rapidly. From the first, Professor Kendrick recognized the need for instruction leading to advanced degrees. By 1952, all courses necessary to the doctorate program were available. Professor Kendrick worked successfully for the integration of graduate research into research projects of the department and fostered the establishment of graduate assistantships and fellowships. Results of his efforts were soon forthcoming. Graduate students increased until, by 1960, when he retired, twenty-nine were in residence at Davis.
Professor Kendrick was deeply interested not only in the graduate program but in the graduate students as well. He firmly believed that graduate students should be well trained in the sciences basic to their field. His wisdom in insisting on their obtaining a broad and thorough training in these sciences is evidenced by their achievements in later years. His interest in graduate students went beyond the graduate program. He was always concerned about their well-being and that of their families; he sought unceasingly for adequate housing in Davis. He was no less concerned about the students' welfare after graduation and expended much thought and effort in finding them suitable positions. Numerous letters at the time of his retirement gave unstinted thanks for his interest in them during and after graduate days.
Professor Kendrick understood the interdependence of the scientific disciplines and the importance of cooperative effort.
He was a member of and an active participant in the following professional societies: Sigma Xi, Phi Kappa Phi, the American Phytopathological Society, the American Botanical Society, and the American Academy of Microbiologists. He was also a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. In 1944 he was elected Vice President of the American Phytopathological Society, and in 1958 became President of the Pacific Division of that Society. In 1952, he was given the Alumni Merit Award from Iowa State University. He was active in civic affairs; from 1936 to 1945 he served on the Board of Trustees of the Davis Joint Union High School, and from 1952 to 1956 he was a member of the Davis City Council.
On October 8, 1960, shortly after his retirement, Professor and Mrs. Kendrick were guests of honor at a dinner attended by some 200 persons. Many of his colleagues and fellow citizens warmly expressed on that occasion their respects for him as a friend and associate and their appreciation for his important contributions to the development of plant pathology on the Davis campus and in the State of California.
Courtesy of University Archives, The Bancroft Library, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720-6000; http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/info
http://content.cdlib.org/view?docId=hb0580022s&brand=oac4
Title: 1963, University of California: In Memoriam
By: University of California (System) Academic Senate, Author
Date: April 1963
Contributing Institution: University Archives, The Bancroft Library, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720-6000; http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/info
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