In memoriam: Michael Grimes

Western Washington University Provost Catherine Riordan sent the following e-mail message out to WWU faculty and staff on Thursday, Oct. 15, regarding the death of Associate Professor of Anthropology Michael Grimes:

Colleagues,

It is with deep sadness that I inform you that Michael Grimes, Associate Professor of Anthropology, died of natural causes on campus yesterday.

Professor Grimes touched many lives at WWU in very significant and positive ways.  As a teacher, scholar, and friend he will be greatly missed at Western.  Our heartfelt condolences go out to his family. 

The Anthropology Department has notified Michael's students of his passing. Western's Counseling Center is prepared to offer support to students as needed. The Counseling Center is located in Old Main 540; they can be reached at 650-3164.

Michael has been a member of Western's faculty since 2000, after receiving his doctorate in Anthropology in 1997 from the University of Pittsburgh. He also served as a Postdoctoral Fellow in Anthropology at the Reproductive Endocrinology Laboratory at Pennsylvania State University.

His work over the last several years included research on nutrition and metabolism, reproductive physiology and breastfeeding behavior. He directed Western's Biodemography Laboratory, which focuses on biomarkers of stress, metabolism and reproductive status, and was an affiliate with the University of Washington's Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology. Michael also was involved with Western"s Center for Healthy Living and Critical Junctures Institute and has published extensively in a number of journals and other publications.

At Western Michael taught a range of Anthropology courses and had received a number of research grants. I am told that students respected his expertise, appreciated the rigor of his classes, and thoroughly enjoyed his dry and ever-present sense of humor.  In the community he served with the Whatcom Sports Commission and as a coach for the Whatcom County Rangers Soccer Club.

Michael is survived by his wife, Tammy, and three children. Funeral arrangements are pending.

-Catherine Riordan

Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs