Laurie Vitt's Generosity Fuels Biology

The Lizard King: Laurie Vitt’s Generosity Fuels Biology Research

By Frances Badgett

Geckos, skinks, iguanas—when we look at lizards, we may not see more than scales and legs and a tail, but when 2007 Distinguished Alumnus Laurie Vitt, ’67, B.A., and ’71, M.S., biology, studies lizards, he sees the keys to evolutionary process, the complex adaptations and strategies lizards use to survive, and insights into global climate change.  

He received a Ph.D. from Arizona State University, and has now retired from teaching and research at the University of Oklahoma. He has also served as a research associate at the Museum of Zoology in Sao Paolo, Brazil, and is a member of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences.  

 Born in Bremerton, Vitt grew up in Montana and California and returned to Washington when his mother, Goldie Vitt, was hired as a Campus School teacher at WWU. She suffered from MS multiple sclerosis and was in- and- out of hospitals most of Vitt’s young adult life.  

 There wasn’t a lot of family money for college, so he made his way by forming a rock band and touring. The Unusuals had a quite a following and toured all over the West Coast. And they had a boa constrictor. On stage. With them. 

 Vitt collected snakes from the time he was 9 years old, and he took “Herky, the Rock ‘n’ Roll Boa” on tour with The Unusuals. 

Balancing a demanding schedule of gigs with a biology degree wasn’t easy, but Vitt found a home at Western, where professors like Maribeth Riffey and Wally Heath provided support and inspiration.

“I took a couple of courses from Dr. Riffey and we became close friends—she sort of helped me navigate through the undergrad program,” Vitt recalls. “Dr. Heath was an ecologist so I had a lot in common with him and we also became good friends.”

That sense of community—and a deep understanding of the financial challenges faced by students—motivated Vitt and his wife, Dr. Janalee Caldwell, to create an endowed fund to support field research in biology at Western. The endowment funds Summer Stipends, a vital resource that enables students to dedicate their summers to full-time, cutting-edge research without the need to find off-campus work. These stipends give students the freedom to immerse themselves in faculty-sponsored projects, gaining invaluable hands-on experience and building a foundation for successful careers.

Importantly, these opportunities are not limited to the hard sciences. The stipends reflect Western’s unique commitment to providing real-world research experiences at the undergraduate level, a hallmark of the university’s mission to prepare students for meaningful contributions in their fields.

Second year master’s student in biology Cara Gutenberg who recently benefited from a Summer Stipend shared, “I am so incredibly grateful for the support from Dr. Vitt. Because of his generosity, I was able to focus on my field work, which really helped my project in so many ways.” 

“I didn’t have to get a job to support myself—I could just spend the entire summer doing research,” added Gutenberg. “I also had funding for supplies for my field research. I am deeply grateful for that support.”

Gutenberg is researching nitrogen retention in vegetation and soils in riparian habitats, the vegetated areas around streams.

As a former student challenged by finding enough money for school, and as a professor well aware of the difficulties acquiring funding for field research, Vitt has created two scholarships. One is an endowment he funded in collaboration with his wife and fellow herpetologist, Dr. Janalee Caldwell, —the Laurie J. Vitt and Janalee P. Caldwell Fund for Field Research in Biology, a fund that Vitt and Caldwell plan to grow with a seven-figure estate gift.  

Thanks to Laurie Vitt and Janalee Caldwell, Western students are now equipped to pursue groundbreaking research and make their own mark on the world.