Don Huffman, Central College professor emeritus, dies at 85

Don Huffman, professor emeritus of Central College, died Dec. 16 at his home in Pella. Huffman, 85, taught biology for 39 years before retiring in 1996. With his wife, Maxine, he helped develop study abroad programs in China and Mexico, including English teaching internships at Zhejiang University. Maxine, a retired professor of English, died in 2010. The couple’s children, Kimberly and Jim, both attended Central College.

 Huffman was born in 1929 in Pittsburg, Kansas. He completed a bachelor’s degree in history and social sciences from Pittsburg State University, a master’s in plant pathology from Kansas State University and a Ph.D. in plant pathology from Iowa State University. In 2008, Huffman also received an honorary degree from Central College.

In 1957, Huffman came to Central, where he later created the pre-health major with professor emeritus of chemistry Art Bosch — and helped design the Vermeer Science Center. He secured continuous research grants from 1961-1996 and served as president of the Iowa Academy of Science and the Association of College Undergraduate Biological Educators. Huffman and Maxine supported Central’s Visiting Chinese Scholar Program, and they jointly received the Asian Achievement Award in 2005 for being “Asian Ambassadors.”

After retiring, Huffman collaborated with Zhejiang University colleagues to write and edit all editions of the textbook “New College English.” A best-selling text in China, the book won national honors in “Best Academic Work of the Year.”  Huffman also authored more than 30 journal articles and seven books — including a mycology textbook on mushrooms and other fungi in the Midwest, published 12 years after he retired.

At Central, the Huffmans’ legacy includes the Huffman Faculty Award for Outstanding Support of Education, the Maxine Huffman Scholarship for students studying abroad and the International Student Loan Program.

More information will be available in an upcoming issue of Civitas.