South Mourns Loss of Beloved Biology Professor
“Brian was more than a wonderful colleague, he was a dear friend,” said Dr. Timothy
Sherman, chair of the University of South Alabama Department of Biology. “I will remember
fondly the many conversations we shared about music, history, politics and science.
I will miss his wry sense of humor and easy going manner. It’s hard for me to believe
that he has gone. Truly a loss for our department, the college and the University.”
Dr. Brian Axsmith, who served as a professor of biology at South for more than 20
years, died last month after contracting COVID-19. Dr. Axsmith was 57-years-old and
leaves behind his wife, Jennifer, and son, Jeffrey.
Axsmith’s interest in paleobotany, the study of fossil plants, was driven by his belief
that many of the questions in vascular plant evolution require paleobotanical answers.
His initial research dealt with some of the earliest plants as found in Triassic,
Jurassic, and Cretaceous rocks from Antarctica, China, Arizona and Alabama. He also
documented the plant fossil record from a region that at the time was poorly researched,
such as the Miocene and Pliocene of the Gulf of Mexico Coastal Plain.
Axsmith spent countless hours researching these Late Neogene plant communities and
enjoyed every minute.
“I have plenty of great memories of Brian, but the one that really stands out is hunting
for plant fossils with him and discovering a full fossilized seed and how giddy and
child-like he was at finding it,” said Blair Scott. “COVID has taken not just a wonderful
human being but a brilliant paleobotanist and a professor who inspired students.”
Axsmith’s former doctoral student Dr. Debra Stults has established a scholarship fund
for South students to honor Brian’s passion for research and love for South. Click here to give to the Dr. Brian Axsmith Scholarship.
“Brian had an incredible way of pouring enthusiasm and passion into everything he
did,” said Jennifer, who earned a degree in anthropology at South. “His energy would
dominate the room, and he was always highly commended on his ability to transfer the
jargon of his field and make it not only something one could understand but that a
person would then become curious about.”
“I loved hearing his stories about teaching. I loved hearing what topics students
chose for research papers, and even will miss his rants when he gave a test and everyone
missed a question that he thought was very easy. I’ll miss watching him give invited
lectures and going with him to ones out of town, sitting in the audience with everyone
else and watching him go from a person who was actually introverted and shy by nature
to someone commanding the room.”
Axsmith enjoyed working at South, and the physical location of the University was
close in proximity to several of his research sites.
“He loved so many things about the University of South Alabama,” Jennifer said. “One
thing that kept him at South was the incredible plant diversity here, not only living,
but the fossil record. The region of southern Alabama and into south Mississippi had
previously identified fossil sites. But, Brian took a few poorly known sites and ferreted
out more information, then hit the ground running, literally, finding new fossil locales,
some within a few miles of campus. One of his favorite fossil finds was the only fossil
of a Begonia found anywhere in the world, and he found it here in Mobile County.”
Axsmith collaborated with researchers of multiple fields across the world.
“His publication record and awards he earned during his career came from his ability
to find a piece of a puzzle, an obscure reference in an old publication, an anecdotal
story of a spot where someone thought they might have seen leaf fragments in clay,
then turn those things into manuscripts that changed knowledge of paleobotany across
time in our region, expanding on geological time frames in paleobotany for this region,”
Jennifer said.
Axsmith’s most recent focus in research was to continue the documentation of fossil
records as found along the eastern and southeastern seaboards of North America.
“Three papers have been in the works for some time, and he will still be listed as
author, even though he is now deceased,” said Dr. Stults, who worked post-doc with
Axsmith since 2011 and recently retired from her job at the USA Children's and Women's
Hospital. “If you walked into Brian’s lab, all you would see was rocks. He was an
intense collector of plant fossils.”
Many of these collections will still undergo study by Stults, who hopes to curate
Axsmith’s collections at museums of natural history.
“I am continuing to work on our joint research, which I have more time for now, and
will continue on this for several years,” Stults said.
Axsmith mentored many biology students who have moved on to serve as leaders in a
variety of professions across the region. Taryn Corso, a former undergraduate student
who worked in Axsmith’s lab at South, is currently a horticulture supervisor at Universal
Orlando Resort.
“While working with Dr. Axsmith doing research, his passion and dedication to botany
and paleobotany was undeniable and infectious,” Corso said. “His classes were dynamic
and inspiring. Dr. Axsmith fueled an interest that became a career. He was a fantastic
teacher, mentor and friend.”
Dr. Jorden Smith recently graduated from the USA College of Medicine and serves as
a resident physician of internal medicine at the University of South Florida. Dr.
Smith was a biology major, and Axsmith served as her undergraduate and pre-medical
mentor.
“I loved his unique way of teaching,” Sprague-Smith said. “He literally took us through
South's walking and nature trails to find the plants that we were learning about.
He believed in me even when others doubted my ability to be accepted to medical school
because I had come from a community college. He guided me through required classes
and wrote one of my three letters of recommendation for medical school. He was a phenomenal
person, who I was happy to be able to keep up with as he joined my husband's band
as a bass player after my graduation.”
Former students, colleagues and friends shared the below comments.
“Brian Axsmith was a great professor, and I thoroughly enjoyed the classes I had with
him at South. My thoughts and prayers go out to his wife and family.” - Lonnie Foster
“I don't think I would have made it through graduate school without Brian's peer mentoring
and support, and he encouraged me throughout my career. His enthusiasm was infectious
and his insights brilliant. My deep condolences to his family.” - Carlie Phipps
“This is heartbreaking news. I took a few of Dr. Axsmith's classes nearly 10 years
ago now, but I still often think about how fun he made it to learn about plants. I
feel lucky to have known him. I would like his loved ones to know: your friend/your
husband/your father made a real impact on my life and I'll never forget him.” - Caitlin
Odom
“Dr. Axsmith was a great professor and a kind man. I have so many fond memories of
his class two years ago.” - Ashlyn Stahly
“Dr. Axsmith was an amazing professor who was willing to do anything for his students.
The amount of different discussions we had talking about food, especially New York
pizza and philly cheese steaks, will always be some of my favorite memories.” - Hannah
Sims
“Dr. Axsmith was one of my instructors when I went back for grad school four years
ago. His mind and candor were intriguing, and his passion for sharing knowledge with
the world was inspiring. I have used the skills gained in his class many times teaching
high school students, and I will always honor him as a man and mentor.” - Charlie
Crabtree
“My sincere condolences to everyone with this huge loss. Brian was a very helpful
research associate of the University of Alabama Museums.” - Adiël Klompmaker
“Dr. Axsmith was a wonderful person, always honest and cared for his students. He
will be missed.” - Hang Nguyen
“Brian was a wonderful colleague and mentor to many, and such a personality. He will
be greatly missed.” - Scott Wing
“Dr. Brian Axsmith was not just my professor or advisor, he was also my friend. I
honestly didn’t care much about botany, but I took all of the classes he taught because
he was such a cool guy and great teacher. I learned so much from him. He was a really
good bassist, and I went to watch him play a few times over the years. After my dad
died, he was one of the first people to take me out to lunch when I got back home.
It’s so sad that he’s gone.” - James Mills
“Brian Axsmith was my botany professor in college. He was an amazing educator that
had a refreshing passion for plants and being out in nature. He changed lives for
the good.” - Emily Ellis Richards
“Brian was a lovely person and a wonderful paleobotanist. His loss is tragic.” - Paul
E. Olsen
“Dr. Brian Axsmith was always up for playing a gig and never once complained about
it. Even though he had a Ph.D. in botany, I do feel as though his first love was music.
I am so grateful for the times we were able to share the stage together.” - Will Smith