Passing of Current Faculty Member Dr. Scott C. James, Associate Professor of Geosciences

WACO, Texas (May 6, 2021) - Baylor University is mourning the passing of current faculty member, Scott C. James, Ph.D., associate professor of geosciences, who died May 2, 2021, while visiting family in California. His colleagues in the Department of Geosciences released the following statement about Dr. James and his impact on the University, his department and students over his seven years as a faculty member at Baylor.

It is with great sadness that the Department of Geosciences shares the news about current faculty member, Scott C. James, Ph.D., associate professor of geosciences, who died suddenly on May 2, 2021 while visiting family in California.

Scott was a dear colleague and collaborator, a caring advisor and teacher, and a close friend of many in our Department at Baylor, and he will be dearly missed. Dr. James was recently tenured and promoted in August 2020, was a prolific research scholar and worked seven years at Baylor. Prior to coming to Baylor, he was employed both in private industry as well as at several U.S. national labs. Although an engineer by training and degrees held, Dr. James was the consummate team player, and was sought after by faculty members across not only the University, but also nationally and internationally for his expertise in building numerical models. He is survived by a brother, Monty James, of San Diego, California; mother, Christina Williams; and long-time friend, Angie Sonnenschein.

The University will host a service of remembrance and conversation at 2 p.m. Friday, May 7, at Ellison Chapel. The service also will be hosted virtually for those out of town who wish to participate. If you are interested in attending virtually, please contact Dr. Daniel Peppe or Dr. Joe Yelderman for more details.

Steven G. Driese, Interim Chair of Geosciences