<div dir="ltr"><br><div class="gmail_quote gmail_quote_container"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">---------- Forwarded message ---------<br>From: <strong class="gmail_sendername" dir="auto">robert.allen--- via Earthsci-faculty-tt</strong> <span dir="auto"><<a href="mailto:earthsci-faculty-tt@lists.ucr.edu">earthsci-faculty-tt@lists.ucr.edu</a>></span><br>Date: Mon, Sep 7, 2026 at 8:48 PM<br>Subject: [Earthsci-faculty-tt] The passing of Dr. Charles F. Hutchinson (Ph.D. ’78)<br>To: earthsci-faculty-tt <<a href="mailto:earthsci-faculty-tt@lists.ucr.edu">earthsci-faculty-tt@lists.ucr.edu</a>><br>Cc: Edgeinstitute Edgeinstitute <<a href="mailto:edgeinstitute@ucr.edu">edgeinstitute@ucr.edu</a>><br></div><br><br><div dir="ltr"><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">With the passing of Dr. Charles F. Hutchinson (Ph.D. ’78) – a UCR shining light – the G6 are now the G5<u></u><u></u></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><u></u> <u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">We
are sad to report that one of our fellow UCR "G6" geographers passed
away on August 31, 2026, in Tucson, Arizona. For most of his career,
Dr. Charles F. Hutchinson (Ph.D.
’78) was a professor of geography at the University of Arizona,
following brief residencies at Caltech's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Esri
in Redlands, and Resources for the Future in the nation’s capital.<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><u></u> <u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Quietly
competent in myriad aspects of the discipline ‘Chuck’, as we all called
him, was the epitome of what makes us all proud to share with him the
title ‘Professional
Geographer’. In his fieldwork, his writings, his administrative
capabilities, his public service, his support of students, and in his
many friendships, he exuded mastery and enduring curiosity about a wide
range of topics, including – but certainly not limited
to – biogeography, natural resources, remote sensing, geographical
information systems, and arid lands (see his contributions in
<i>Arid Lands: Today And Tomorrow,</i> <i>The Future of Arid Lands-Revisited </i>
and <i>World Atlas of Desertification)</i><u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><u></u> <u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">A
humble and droll man with a resonant voice and keen intelligence, he
always lit up when asked about his two accomplished daughters – Heather
and Sydney – both of whom
shared his peaceful last days with him. He was at his happiest when the
entire family – including his four grandchildren and his partners,
Barbara and Jan – gathered for family reunions. They were always
highlights for him.<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><u></u> <u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Along
with the five remaining members of the G6, Chuck dedicated considerable
effort and wisdom to raising funds for scholarships and endowments
supporting geographical
studies at UCR.* Until his final days, he expressed hope that the many
Ph.D. geographers already on the faculty at UCR could be brought
together to help re-establish a dynamic, modern geography degree program
within the university akin to the academic curriculum
that prepared all of us for successful careers in academia, government
and the private sector.
<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><u></u> <u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Such
a program, he asserted repeatedly, would equip UCR students with the
range of skills and sensitivity needed to live in greater harmony with
our natural and cultural
environments. We shared the belief that such a forward-looking step
would be a fitting legacy for Dr. Hutchinson, one of UCR’s shining
alums—the G5: Don Chambers, Jim Huning, Dave Nichols, Mike Pasqualetti,
Tony VanCuren.<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><u></u> <u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">*
<a href="https://www.highlandernews.org/86268/six-ucr-alumni-teamed-up-to-establish-a-scholarship-helps-students-chart-course-for-science-to-policy-careers/" target="_blank">
https://www.highlandernews.org/86268/six-ucr-alumni-teamed-up-to-establish-a-scholarship-helps-students-chart-course-for-science-to-policy-careers/</a>.<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><u></u> </span></p><br></div>
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