Eugene (Gene) Sander spent his early days in Dodge Center, a small rural community in southwestern Minnesota and spent many summers working with his grandfather at the family farm near Moorhead.  These early experiences instilled in him a lifelong love of agriculture and farming. Education was highly valued by his parents, and through the career of his  father, a Cooperative Extension County Agent, Gene was introduced to the practical synergy between education and agriculture, a concept that would greatly influence his later academic career.

After graduating from Dodge Center High School, Gene attended the University of Minnesota on a football scholarship and completed his BS and MS degrees there.  He served in the Air Force at Wright Patterson Air Force Base where he advanced to the rank of Captain at the Aerospace Medical  Research Laboratories.  He received his PhD from Cornell University and completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship at Brandeis University.

Gene began his academic career as a Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Florida, Gainesville.  He chaired the Department of Biochemistry at West Virginia University, was Deputy Chancellor for Biotechnology at Texas A&M University and for 24 years served as Dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at the University of Arizona.  He retired as President of the University in 2011.

His accomplishments were many; perhaps he will be most remembered for his national impact on the introduction of biotechnology into agriculture.  Upon retirement, he was awarded a named endowment for graduate students at the University of Arizona, named a Fellow of the American Academy for the Advancement of Science and awarded honorary membership in Phi Beta Kappa.

Gene will be remembered for his integrity, generosity, intellect, and sense of humor.  His witticisms were widely quoted both by his family and professional colleagues.  He was mentor to 5 graduate students and 18 postdoctoral fellows during his scientific career and, in his administrative capacity, a strong student advocate. With his wife Louise, a fellow faculty member, he endowed a graduate fellowship for students at the University of Arizona.

Despite the demands of a prolific career, Gene always had time for his family. They were his first love. He treasured annual retreats at the family farm and time with grandchildren at the Louisiana lake house. He had a  lifelong love affair with cars, and especially enjoyed restoring old cars. He loved dogs, football, and creating his signature "doodles" at meetings.

A regular attendee at his local parish, Gene was a man of deep faith that guided him throughout his life. He truly left the world a better place and will be greatly missed by all who knew him.  He is survived by his sister, Carol; wife, Louise; daughter, Kathy; son, Jay; and preceded in death by his parents, Kathryn and Victor Sander.

In place of flowers, the family kindly requests that memorial contributions be made in Gene Sander's memory to support the Eugene and Louise Canfield Sander Graduate Support Endowment at the University of Arizona College of Agriculture, Life and Environmental Sciences (CALES).

Gifts to this endowment will help continue his legacy by supporting graduate students in biological sciences who reflect the values and passions that were so important to Gene.

Memorial gifts can be made online at: The University of Arizona Foundation