Russell Aiuto
July 13, 1934 ~ April 26, 2022
McDonough Southern Cremations & Funerals
OBITUARY FOR RUSSELL AIUTO
Russell Aiuto, 87 died on April 26,2022 at home in Marietta, Georgia.
Russ was born in Monroe, Michigan, on July 13th, 1934. He was the son of Crispino and Maria Aiuto. He was preceded in death by two brothers, Joseph and Christopher.
After graduating from Monroe High School, he attended the University of Michigan, Eastern Michigan University, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. From 1958 – 1985, Russ became President of Hiram Collage (OH), and held the position until 1988.
After leaving Hiram Collage, Russ was the Director of Teacher Preparation and Enhancement of the National Science Foundation, Senior Research Associate for the National Science Teachers Association, and Senior Program Officer for the Council of Independent Colleges, all in Washington D.C.
Upon retiring in 1966, he was an educational research specialist of Intelligent Automation, Inc., Adjunct Professor of English at Montgomery Collage (MD), and Adjunct Professor of Biology at Kennesaw State University (GA).
He is an author and co-writer of 5 textbooks and 12 scientific articles. He has also published three young adult novels and written 12 plays that have been preformed by non- professional theater companies.
He is survived by his partner of 26 years, Lois Campbell, two daughters, Mary Carroll and Susan Jedinak, two grandchildren, and six great grandchildren. He married Nancy Jane Obenauf in 1955; she died in 1980. A granddaughter, Melanie Summa, preceded him in death.
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Russ was my Life Partner for 26 years. He will be missed with some sadness, but with much more gratitude and fond memories of the travel, theater. and other life events that we shared. His obituary (which he wrote) does not tell the full story of who he was, so I have posted the biography that was used on the jacket of his books.
Russell Aiuto Biography from the jacket of his books.
Russell Aiuto is a retired educator. He was a college professor of biology, specializing in genetics, a dean, a provost and a college president. He has a BA in theater from the University of Michigan, a BA in speech and English with a minor in biology from Eastern Michigan University and an MA and Ph.D. in genetics and botany from the University of North Carolina.
After his academic career at Albion College (MI) and Hiram College (OH) he was a division director at the National Science Foundation, director of research and development for the National Science Teachers Association, and senior project officer for the Council of Independent Colleges. His first publications, beginning in 1962, were research papers in evolution and genetics, ranging from evolutionary studies in the plant genus Phlox, genetic studies in color variation in the Zebra Finch, and a series of papers between 1964 and 1980 in the biochemical genetics of the fungus Neurospora.
In 1980, his first play (written in collaboration with Charles Crupi) was Mencken and Sara and was produced in Baltimore in conjunction with the H.L. Mencken Centennial. Two other plays, again both written with Charles Crupi, were produced in 1985 and 1986. The first of these was Ring Lardner’s America, the second, Dorothy Parker. In 1998, a one-act play, Forever After, was performed by the Silver Spring Stage. He has seven other plays that have been produced. Some of his other publications include a short story, One of One, that appeared in The Albion Review in 1982.
During the early 1990s, he supervised and contributed to two major publications in science education reform for the National Science Teachers Association. The first of these was The Content Core, a curriculum guide for the teaching of science in grades six through twelve; the second, Relevant Research, a book that brought together the significant papers dealing with the theory and practice of the teaching of science. In 1993, he was a coauthor of a three-volume textbook series, Science Interactions, published by McGraw Hill-Glencoe. These volumes are now in their third edition; with a Spanish language edition followed in 2000. Science Interactions was one of the most popular series of textbooks used by middle schools across the nation.