Shirley Byrne (foreground, left) was the wife of John Byrne. John V. Byrne (foreground, center) came to Oregon State University as an Associate Professor of Marine Geology in 1961, becoming the Chairman of the Oceanography Department in 1968. Byrne was the OSU president from 1984-1995. Ruth M. Howland (foreground, right) was an Oregon State University Foundation trustee.
Left to right: Shirley and John Byrne (1984-1995), Clarice and Robert MacVicar (1970-1984), Chris and James Jensen (1961-1969), and Marilyn and Roy Young (1969-1970).
John Vincent Byrne assumed the presidency in November 1984 and served as OSU's twelfth president for eleven years until the end of 1995. Byrne began teaching at Oregon State University in 1960, and his career at the university spanned thirty-five years. He was an early leader of the OSU Sea Grant program and was the director of the Marine Science Center.