David J. Prior, former dean at Northern Arizona University, died Thursday in Wise, Va. He was 68.<\/p>\n
Dr. Prior was chancellor of the University of Virginia\u2019s College at Wise, a position he had held since 2005. He arrived at NAU in 1987 to serve as chair of Biological Sciences, and then was named dean of the College of Arts and Sciences in 1992, where he remained until 1995.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was shocked and saddened to learn of David Prior’s unexpected and untimely death,\u201d said NAU President Emeritus\u00a0Eugene Hughes<\/strong>. \u201cDavid had a distinguished career at NAU and beyond.\u00a0He assisted in bringing research to new heights at each of the institutions he served and was a true leader.\u00a0It was my honor to be a speaker at his inauguration as chancellor of the University of Virginia at Wise and to count him as a special colleague and friend.\u201d<\/p>\n Students at UVa-Wise held a candlelight vigil Thursday night. A memorial service is planned for next week at the university\u2019s convocation center.<\/p>\n Dr. Prior is survived by his wife, Merry Lu, and two children, Andrea and Christopher.<\/p>\n Read the Virginia university\u2019s\u00a0full story<\/a>\u00a0online.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"