Charles B. Beck, Professor Emeritus, received the PhD degree from Cornell University where he developed an intense interest in the structure of fossil and living plants under the influence of Professor Harlan Banks and Professor Arthur Eames. Following post-doctoral study with Professor John Walton at Glasgow University in Scotland, he joined the faculty of the University of Michigan. At Michigan he served one term each as Chairman of the Department of Botany and Director of the Museum of Paleontology. He also served one year as President of the International Organization of Paleobotany. His graduate students pursued research in either plant structure and development or paleobotany. He taught courses in plant anatomy, plant morphology and paleobotany over a period of 35 years.