Ron Sosebee, a pioneering administrator, professor and research scientist who helped shape the study of rangeland ecology at Texas Tech for more than three decades, died Jan. 28 in Carbon, Texas, about 60 miles east of Abilene. He was 83.
An Anson, Texas native, Sosebee played a central role in the growth and development of Texas Tech’s range, wildlife and fisheries degree programs, joining the faculty in 1969 as a plant ecophysiologist. He was a founding member of what was then the university’s range management program, later the range and wildlife management department, and became a steady presence as the unit evolved into the Department of Natural Resources Management.
Beyond his scholarly output and administrative leadership, colleagues said Sosebee was defined by a deep personal generosity that shaped generations of students and faculty.
“In addition to his many professional achievements, Ron was a success in a much more fundamental and important way: He was a good person in the truest sense,” said Ernest Fish, a former department chair and professor. “In addition to what he offered students and faculty as a professional, they were better individuals because of what he gave of himself as a human being.”
Sosebee maintained a long and productive research career, publishing several hundred papers and mentoring dozens of graduate students and postdoctoral researchers, according to Warren Conway, a professor and the Bricker Endowed Chair in Wildlife Management at Texas Tech. His most influential work focused on plant ecophysiology and herbicide applications in rangeland settings, particularly in the management of invasive and noxious species.
“But it was his work on plant ecophysiology and herbicide applications in rangeland settings, and his leadership in the Society for Range Management and the Texas Section of the Society for Range Management, that remained impactful and relevant long after his active professional career ended,” Conway said.
Sosebee earned his bachelor’s degree from Abilene Christian University and his master’s degree from New Mexico State University before completing his doctorate at Utah State University. In 1991, he was named interim chair of his department and soon after assumed the permanent role, serving as chair through 1997. He later returned to full-time teaching and research, retiring in 2008 as Professor Emeritus.
His research, much of it conducted alongside graduate students, contributed significantly to understanding brush management and herbicide mechanisms in species such as mesquite, silverleaf nightshade and perennial broomweed. Colleagues credit him as a pioneer in linking plant physiology with ecological processes in rangeland systems.
Sosebee’s scholarly career culminated with the publication of a 700-page Society for Range Management treatise on the physiological ecology and developmental morphology of wildland plants, for which he served as co-editor. His expertise also carried him well beyond the United States, with professional activities and advisory roles in Peru, Argentina, Morocco, Canada, Mexico and China. Over the years, he advised 14 graduate students from foreign countries pursuing degrees at Texas Tech.
His contributions were widely recognized by the profession. In 2011, Sosebee received the Society for Range Management’s Sustained Lifetime Achievement Award, honoring long-term contributions to the science and practice of range management. Other honors included the W. R. Chapline Research Award in 2002 for exceptional and sustained research accomplishments, and designation as a Fellow of the Society in 1989 for service and leadership.
For colleagues and former students alike, Sosebee’s legacy rests not only in his scientific contributions, but in the steady influence he exerted, a presence that helped define both a discipline and a department.
CONTACT: Richard Stevens, Chair & Caeser Kleberg Endowed Professor of Wildlife Conservation, Department of Natural Resources Management, Davis College of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources, Texas Tech University at (806) 834-6843 or richard.stevens@ttu.edu
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