Following a 35-year OSU career including an 11-year presidency and service as the university's first Dean of Oceanography, as well as heading the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, John Byrne has been a tireless university volunteer. An OSU Foundation Honorary Trustee, he has served on the College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences Advisory Board, Art Department Advisory Committee, Valley Library Advisory Council, and the University Honors College Board of Regents. From 2001 through 2006, he led an annual colloquium on leadership in the University Honors College. John and his wife, Shirley, also led the grassroots fundraising effort to bring a new Steinway concert grand piano to the LaSells Stewart Center. Corvallis residents, they are members of OSU's James H. Jensen Society. Their children are Donna Byrne '81, Lisa Barnhart, Karen McCormick, and Steven Byrne.