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Richard H. Goodwin, early land preservationist and Connecticut College professor, dies at 96

Richard H. Goodwin, 1910-2007

July 06, 2007

Richard H. Goodwin, land preservationist, past president of the Nature Conservancy and Katharine Blunt Professor Emeritus of Botany at Connecticut College, died on July 6, 2007. He was 96.

Goodwin was an early leader in the field of land preservation, and served as the president of the Nature Conservancy from 1956-58 and again from 1964-66. In 1960, Goodwin negotiated the then-largest deal in the organization´s history, protecting 6,500 forested acres on the California coast.

View an excerpt from a 1997 video on The Nature Conservancy that featured Professor Goodwin.

Goodwin led the effort to create and then expand the Burnham Brook Preserve in East Haddam, Conn., which today totals more than 1,200 acres. He himself donated his home and property on Dolbia Hill to add to the preserve, which is now used specifically for scientific research.

Goodwin served as professor of botany and chair of the botany department at Connecticut College from 1944 until 1976, and helped the college create one of the nation´s first environmental studies programs - then called human ecology - in 1969. Goodwin also oversaw the growth of the college´s arboretum from 90 acres to more than 400 acres. Today the arboretum comprises more than 750 acres.

At Connecticut College, Goodwin was actively involved in research on the physiology of root growth, the florescent compounds in plants and the effects of light on plant growth. He published numerous articles and regularly gave speeches about his research and his work in land conservation.

The Connecticut College Goodwin-Niering Center for Conservation Biology and Environmental Studies was founded in 1993 and renamed in 1999 in honor of Goodwin and William A. Niering, the Lucretia L. Allyn Professor Emeritus of Botany at Connecticut College. Niering and Goodwin co-founded the Connecticut chapter of the Nature Conservancy.

Goodwin also established the Conservation and Research Foundation, an independent venture launched in 1953 to offer seed grants to scientists and others seeking to study and preserve the natural environment.

Goodwin´s autobiography, "A Botanist´s Window on the Twentieth Century," was published in 2002 by Harvard Forest in Petersham, Mass. In it, Goodwin describes growing from a sickly child into a young man with an insatiable passion for the environment.

Goodwin studied botany and zoology at Harvard University, graduating with a bachelor´s degree and a master´s degree in biology in 1933 and 1934, respectively. He went on to earn his doctorate degree in biology with a concentration in botany, also from Harvard, in 1937.

Goodwin had a profound effect on his students. David Foster, who studied under Goodwin at Connecticut College and now teaches at Harvard, said Goodwin had a way of "putting small things into a very large context in a way that dealt with issues that really matter.

"On one hand, he´s had a very simple life," Foster said. "On the other hand, he´s led an incredibly rich and diverse life, and he´s made some incredible contributions."

Connecticut College alumna Barbara Rice Kashansky noted Goodwin´s commitment to teaching and to environmental stewardship.

"Before it was fashionable to be putting land aside, he was very much involved in the preservation of open space," she said. "In his quiet way, he reinforced this kind of caring in his students, and many have gone on to be quite influential in the field."

An avid traveler, Goodwin visited Cuba, Panama, Peru, China, New Zealand, Holland, Switzerland and Tanzania, among many other countries.

Goodwin is survived by the former Esther Bemis, his wife of 71 years, his daughter Mary Linder Wetzel, and his son Richard H. Goodwin, Jr. He had four grandchildren and two great grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held at All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church at 19 Jay Street in New London, where the Goodwins are long-time members, on Saturday, July 28 at 10 a.m.

A memorial in Harkness Chapel at Connecticut College will be held on Saturday, October 20 at 1 p.m.

For more information contact: Amy Sullivan (860) 439-2526; amy.sullivan@conncoll.edu