Charles Presley Nash, professor emeritus of chemistry and a leader of the faculty at the University of California, Davis, died early on the morning of July 15 from complications of pneumonia. He was 75.

"Charlie Nash was one of our most active and engaged campus citizens, even well into retirement," Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef said. "He truly loved UC Davis and served it well, notably completing two back-to-back terms as chair of our Academic Senate — the first faculty member selected to do so. He was always interested in making sure faculty knew their role in shared governance, helping the university be the best it could be."

Nash served those two terms as chair of the Davis Division of the Academic Senate, which includes all tenured and tenure-track professors, from 1987 to 1991 during a time of budget challenges for the university. At other times, he served on various Senate committees including those related to planning and budget, tenure issues and shared governance, and chaired the emeriti committee from 1999 to 2002.

As chair of the Senate, Nash also was one of the co-authors and original signatories of UC Davis' "Principles of Community," in 1990. The document, ceremonially reaffirmed in 1996 and 2001, embodies the values of the Davis campus.

In the early 1990s, Nash played a major role in revising the campus's English requirements for entering students. As a result of the reforms, students needing additional preparation in English composition took classes at community colleges, rather than at UC Davis.

Nash also led a special committee of the UC Academic Senate that in 1990 developed a policy to allow the university to remove incompetent professors from their positions, while protecting against arbitrary dismissal.

After stepping down as Senate chair, Nash became active in the Davis Faculty Association, an independent organization for university faculty affiliated with the Council of UC Faculty Associations (CUCFA). He was a member of the board, served as chair for several years, and was elected vice president for external relations of CUCFA, a position he held from 1996 until his death, said Myrna Hays, executive director of the association.

Through the faculty association, Nash conducted forums to help faculty members find their way through the "briar patch" of academic promotions, and was very active in intellectual property issues. Working with the faculty association at California State University Sacramento, Nash and the Davis Faculty Association won legislation that protected the rights of professors to own the contents of their lectures.

"His contributions were enormous," said Daniel Simmons, professor of law, who succeeded Nash as chair of the senate. "He was a constant resource, always there to help faculty members who were having problems."

Nash was born in 1932 and educated at Sacramento Junior College before transferring to UC Berkeley, where he received his bachelor's degree in chemistry in 1952. He then went to UCLA, where he received his Ph.D. in chemistry in 1958. He began working at UC Davis in 1957 and was appointed as an assistant professor in chemistry in 1959, rising to full professor in 1970.

Memorial service

A public funeral service is planned for 10:30 a.m. on July 19, at the Veterans Memorial in Davis, with a reception to follow. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Department of Chemistry at UC Berkeley.