Slater, James R.

James Rodenburg Slater was born June 11, 1890, in Cairo, New York. After service in World War I and after earning a master's degree from Syracuse University in 1917, Slater came west and joined the biology faculty of the College of Puget Sound (now University of Puget Sound), in Tacoma, Washington, in 1919. He was founder and director (1930-1951) of the college's natural history museum, later named for him as the Slater Museum of Natural History. Professor Slater taught at CPS until summer 1951, when he moved to Lakeland, Florida, and began teaching at Florida Southern College. After living several years in Florida, Slater returned to Tacoma where he continued his research on the amphibians, reptiles and plants of Washington and the Pacific Northwest. He remained active in the natural history museum and in the affairs of the biology department. He lived a long and active life. Professor Slater died at age 98 on February 28, 1989.

James Rodenburg Slater was born June 11, 1890, in Cairo, New York. After service in World War I and after earning a master’s degree from Syracuse University in 1917, Slater came west and joined the biology faculty of the College of Puget Sound (now University of Puget Sound), in Tacoma, Washington, in 1919. He was founder and director (1930-1951) of the college’s natural history museum, later named for him as the James R. Slater Museum of Natural History. Professor Slater taught at CPS until summer 1951, when he moved to Lakeland, Florida, and began teaching at Florida Southern College. After living several years in Florida, Slater returned to Tacoma where he continued his research on the amphibians, reptiles and plants of Washington and the Pacific Northwest. He remained active in the natural history museum and in the affairs of the biology department. He lived a long and active life. Professor Slater died at age 98 on February 28, 1989.