From listmaster animalgenome.org Mon Mar 23 13:36:50 2020
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From: Max Rothschild <mfrothsciastate.edu>
Postmaster: submission approved by list moderator
To: Members of AnGenMap <angenmapanimalgenome.org>
Subject: The passing of Dr. Gene Freeman
Date: Mon, 23 Mar 2020 13:36:50 -0500
It is with sadness that the Animal Breeding, Genetics
and Genomics Group at Iowa State University report the
passing of Dr. A. E. (Gene) Freeman on March 21, 2020.
A full accounting of Gene’s many outstanding contributions
can be found at “The Contributions of A. E. Freeman” by
Ronald E. Pearson at Journal of Dairy Science:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/...0201701932
and in an interview of Dr. Gene Freeman by Dr. Jack Dekkers
https://mediacommons.unl.edu/...ne-Freeman.
Excerpts of the JDS article are presented below
Dr. Gene Freeman was born in 1931 and grew up on a farm in Lewisburg, West
Virginia, with a 30-cow Jersey herd. He attended West Virginia University in
1948 and completed his B.S. in 1952 and his M.S. in 1954 with R. S. Dunbar, Jr.
Gene then attended Cornell University for his PhD under the direction of C. R.
Henderson in the Animal Science Department, which he completed in 1957.
Gene became an assistant professor in the Animal Science Department at Iowa
State University in 1957. Iowa State was to be his academic home for his
entire career, except for two sabbaticals. Over his 43 year career at Iowa
State, he progressed through the ranks (1961, Associate Professor; 1965,
Professor; 1978, Charles F. Curtiss Distinguished Professor of Agriculture;
and 2000 Professor Emeritus). His beginning years at Iowa State were devoted
to undergraduate teaching and cooperative research with a wide variety of
faculty and students. As time progressed, he initiated a more active
research program that focused on dairy cattle breeding. His mentoring of
graduate students began in 1960 with Joe Hillers and the late Don Butcher.
It is not an overstatement to say that for the next 40+ years, Gene made his
mark in animal genetics and dairy cattle genetics in particular. He was an
extremely productive mentor of dairy genetics graduate students and was a
prolific author of abstracts and of research and popular press articles on
dairy cattle breeding. Gene’s contributions to dairy cattle breeding and
genetics were summed up by his former graduate student Ron Pearson and
include: 1) his students; 2) the research he conducted and guided; 3) his
counsel to various industry groups and to the academic community; and 4) the
leadership he provided to industry and academic groups and organizations.
Gene served as the major advisor for 55 graduate students in animal breeding
who received 32 M.S. and 40 Ph.D. degrees. He also served on the committees
of numerous other graduate students. Approximately 30% of his students were
from outside the United States. Over half of his 55 students hold or have
held university faculty positions, and others hold important technical
positions in national genetic evaluation units, with various AI
organizations, and other industry organizations that involve improvement of
germ plasm. A growing number of these students have received university and
national awards in teaching and research. As a major professor, Gene was
generally close to his students. He interacted with them at both a social and
intellectual level and generally treated them as colleagues. He provided
strong encouragement and help where necessary. Once they graduated, Gene
continued to open doors for his former students. He was a mentor, a
colleague, and a friend. In addition to his own graduate students, Gene
served as mentor to numerous visiting scientists (postdoc and sabbatical) and
students.
Gene Freeman’s contributions to research were considerable (see review by R.
Pearson). Much of the focus of this research was on current and expected
problems and opportunities that were or would be encountered by the dairy
cattle breeding industry. This research program represented a variety of
research approaches, including planned experiments, analysis of field data,
field studies, simulation, and theoretical studies, and involved associations
with numerous other disciplines. During his entire career at Iowa State
University, Gene maintained a designed dairy cattle breeding project with the
dairy research herd at Ankeny, Iowa, and for some time also with the dairy
teaching herd at Ames. The Ankeny herd was well used and produced many
outstanding research results useful for industry. Because of this research,
Gene was an invited speaker at many symposia and other professional meetings
in the United States and around the world. One aspect that varied little over
time was his focus; the vast majority of Gene’s research was on practical
problems related to genetic improvement of dairy cattle. Gene was an active
collaborator and attracted researchers from diverse areas to cooperate with
him on innovative research. Industry supported his efforts, and he freely
offered his advice and counsel in any area that industry might find useful.
Gene served as a resource for most dairy cattle breed associations and AI
studs in the United States and a number outside of the United States. He also
served on a number of substantive committees of the National Association of
Animal Breeders and its affiliate organizations. Gene loved to discuss ideas
and, as his colleagues and students may remember, he would often say “talk is
cheap, it takes money to buy whiskey”.
During his tenure at Iowa State, Gene provided significant leadership to the
Animal Breeding Group at Iowa State. He also was an enthusiastic supporter
and leader within the NC-2 and subsequent multistate regional research
projects in dairy genetics. He provided leadership to the American Dairy
Science Association (ADSA) through its editorial board, dairy cattle
improvement committee, production division, and board of directors. He served
as a member and President of the board of directors for the World Congresses
on Genetics Applied to Livestock Production.
In recognition of his many accomplishments, he received numerous major awards
from a variety of organizations including: National Association of Animal
Breeders Research Award (ADSA), Rockefeller Prentice Memorial Award in Animal
Breeding and Genetics (ASAS), Borden Award for Outstanding Research in Dairy
Science (ADSA), Gamma Sigma Delta Award of Merit, ADSA Distinguished Service
Award, J. L. Lush Award in Animal Breeding and Genetics (ADSA), Distinguished
Alumni Award from the College of Agriculture of West Virginia University,
Faculty Citation Iowa State University Alumni Association, Fellow of ASAS,
Fellow of the American Association of the Advancement of Science, Fellow of
ADSA, and the ASAS Morrison Award, which is the top research award in ASAS.
Gene Freeman was married to Christine Lewis Freeman in 1950 in Lewisburg, WV.
The Freemans have three daughters: Patti Works and her husband live in
Lexington, KY. They have 3 children, and 1 grandson; Lynn Hempe and her
husband live in Eden Prairie, MN; and Anne Irving and her husband live in
Eden Prairie, MN and have two daughters.
Recently, in honor of Gene, several of his former graduate students
established the “Dr. Gene Freeman Graduate Student Travel Fund in Animal
Breeding and Genetics” at the Iowa State University Foundation. The purpose
of this fund is to help students attend professional meetings and conferences
and emphasizes the important role those experiences play on career
development, in recognition of the important role that Gene filled for his
students in allowing them to attend similar events. Additional donations to
this fund can be made by direct contributions to the ISU Foundation or the
department with the fund’s name.
Condolences can be sent to Christine Freeman at 2355Hamilton Circle, Apt 22,
Ames, IA 50014
A memorial service is being planned.
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