William R. Anderson, Ph.D., professor of botany and curator of vascular plants in the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts, retired from active faculty status on August 31, 2002.

Professor Anderson received his B.S. degree from Duke University in 1964 and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Michigan in 1965 and 1971, respectively. From 1971-74 he was associate curator at the New York Botanical Garden. He joined the University of Michigan faculty in 1974 as assistant professor and associate curator; he was promoted to associate professor in 1979 and professor and curator in 1986. Professor Anderson also served as director of the Herbarium from 1986-99.

Professor Anderson's research on evolution within the family Malpighiaceae yielded publications on floral morphology, breeding systems, phylogeny, and cytology, as well as monographs of particular genera and floristic treatments. He has named and described five genera and over 200 species new to science, and has been acclaimed as contributor to and editor of the series "Flora Novo-Galiciana" by Rogers McVaugh, which is the first authoritative study of vascular plants of western Mexico. As a curator of vascular plants at the University, Professor Anderson oversaw the growth of the collections of one of the major herbaria in the world. During his distinguished service as director of the University Herbarium, he secured funding for a complete renovation of the physical facility and oversaw the growth of endowment funds.

An engaging and enthusiastic lecturer, Professor Anderson taught a diverse array of courses and supervised the doctoral dissertations of 16 graduate students. A botanist of international renown and an expert on botanical nomenclature, Professor Anderson was elected president of the American Society of Plant Taxonomists (1993-94). He served on the Committee for Spermatophyta of the International Association for Plant Taxonomy (1987-2001) and on the steering committee for the Species Plantarum Project of the International Organization for Plant Information (1994-2000).

The Regents salute this distinguished scholar by naming William R. Anderson professor emeritus of botany and curator emeritus of vascular plants.