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OBITUARY: SIR JOHN BURNETT

Thursday 23 August 2007

Sir John Burnett, who died in Oxford at the end of July at the age of 85, was a distinguished academic and university administrator whose influence was of great assistance in gaining the Royal Charter for Buckingham. He also served on our Academic Advisory Council for many years. He believed in academic innovation and the 2-year degree, saying that the long summer vacation was only there to allow students to return to the family farm to help with the harvest.

His last demanding administrative post was that of Vice-Chancellor and Principal of Edinburgh University, but he maintained a foothold in his chosen discipline, mycology. In this, his research interests ranged from the genetics of certain fungal groups to their complex structure. Extensive appraisals of his contributions to botanical science can be found in the tributes in The Independent and The Times newspapers.

Report by Professor Alan Brook