COX, Donald D. 1926-

PERSONAL: Born August 2, 1926, in Maben, WV; son of David Isom (in the lumber business) and Lettie Lee (a homemaker; maiden name, Roles) Cox; married Lucille Cecil, 1947 (divorced, 1960); married Barbara Barr (a teacher), December 22, 1962; children: Deborah Cox Davis (deceased), Cynthia Cox Mangione, Lisa Cox Lattime. Ethnicity: "English." Education: Marshall University, B.A., 1949, M.A., 1950; further graduate study at Ohio State University, 1951, and Michigan State University, 1952; Syracuse University, Ph.D., 1958.

ADDRESSES: Home and office—83 Edwards Cir., Oswego, NY 13126. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Teacher at public schools in West Virginia, 1949–50; Marshall University, Huntington, WV, professor of biology, 1950–62; State University of New York at Oswego, Oswego, professor of biology, 1963–91, professor emeritus, 1991–, department chair, 1972–75, director of Rice Creek Field Station, 1981–91. New York State Museum, research specialist in palynology, summers, 1958–61; U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, plant physiognomist, summer, 1962; Commission on Undergraduate Education in Biological Sciences, staff biologist, 1969–70; consultant to American Institute of Biological Sciences. National Science Foundation, director of institutes for teachers, between 1965 and 1967. Military service: U.S. Navy, 1943–46.

MEMBER: Sigma Xi.

WRITINGS:

Common Flowering Plants of the Northeast, illustrated by Shirley A. Peron and Ruth Sachidanandan, State University of New York Press (Albany, NY), 1985.

Seaway Trail Wildguide to Natural History, Seaway Trail Foundation (Sackets Harbor, NY), 1996.

A Naturalist's Guide to Wetland Plants: An Ecology for Eastern North America, illustrated by Shirley A. Peron, Syracuse University Press (Syracuse, NY), 2000.

A Naturalist's Guide to Seashore Plants: An Ecology for Eastern North America, illustrated by Shirley A. Peron, Syracuse University Press (Syracuse, NY), 2003.

A Naturalist's Guide to Forest Plants: An Ecology for Eastern North America, illustrated by Shirley A. Peron, Syracuse University Press (Syracuse, NY), 2003.

A Naturalist's Guide to Field Plants: An Ecology for Eastern North America, illustrated by Shirley A. Peron, Syracuse University Press (Syracuse, NY), 2004.

Author of curriculum materials. Contributor to periodicals, including Bioscience and American Biology Teacher.

SIDELIGHTS: Donald D. Cox told CA: "I spent forty years in college biology classrooms, hopefully imparting useful information and concepts to young people. I have always believed that an educated public is the best way to preserve the democratic way of life. The United States probably has the best informed scientists in the world. Unfortunately the language of science is often so technical that it is beyond the understanding of the general population. I think we have lagged behind in translating the technical language of science into terms that the average citizen can assimilate. This has been one of my motivations for writing. I have presented botany and plant ecology in nontechnical terms and tried to relate them to local and world ecology."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Choice, February, 2003, K. T. Settlemyer, review of A Naturalist's Guide to Wetland Plants: An Ecology for Eastern North America.

Plant Science Bulletin, spring, 2003, Don Les, review of A Naturalist's Guide to Wetland Plants, pp. 16-17.

ONLINE

Chicago Botanic Garden Web site, http://www.chicagobotanic.org/ (August 21, 2003), David Sollenberger, review of A Naturalist's Guide to Wetland Plants: An Ecology for Eastern North America.