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Professor Emeritus Larry Spreer, known for his passion for students and mentorship, died March 21 in Stockton at the age of 81.

Spreer taught in the chemistry department for 41 years, beginning as an assistant professor in 1970 and working his way up to department chair.

His teaching earned numerous accolades over the years: the Distinguished Faculty Award, the Faye and Alex Spanos Distinguished Teaching Award and Eberhardt Teacher-Scholar Award. Upon his retirement in 2011, he received Pacific鈥檚 highest honor鈥攖he Order of the Pacific.

鈥淟arry was a passionate professor who cared deeply about students鈥� success,鈥� said Jianhua Ren, professor and co-chair of the chemistry department. 鈥淥ver his 41 years as a faculty member, Larry taught and mentored generations of undergraduate and graduate students.

鈥淗e motivated the students in the classrooms and in the labs,鈥� she added. 鈥淎s the department chair, Larry cared about the well-being of the department, the faculty and the staff. He went extra miles helping new faculty members launch their teacher-scholar careers at Pacific.鈥�

Former College of the Pacific Dean Bob Benedetti described Spreer as 鈥渙ne of the stars of the chemistry department,鈥� whose success bringing in large research grants provided vital support to the chemistry department鈥檚 PhD program.   

鈥淟arry was a steadfast leader that guided and stabilized the department through some turbulent times. He helped bring the biochemistry program towards the modern age,鈥� said Jerry Tsai, professor and co-chair of chemistry department.

Spreer published more than 30 peer-reviewed papers on his research on inorganic chemistry and served as visiting professor and visiting scientist at prestigious institutions around the world, including University of Zurich, Stanford University, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Naval Weapons Center and Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory.

鈥淟arry was incredibly helpful and most generous with his time introducing me to the intricacies of the job. Without him, I would have been utterly lost. I know from many other instances that Larry was very connected to all matters of the department and cared deeply about students, staff, and colleagues,鈥� shared Andy Franz, professor and former co-chair of the chemistry department.

Spreer also served as chair of Academic Council, the University Promotion and Tenure Committee, the Academic Affairs Committee and General Education Committee.

He earned his bachelor鈥檚 degree in chemistry from the University of Kansas in 1965 and completed his PhD at University of Colorado in 1969.

Former colleague Charles Matuszak established a fund in honor of Larry and his wife Patricia in 2024. Gifts in Spreers鈥� memory can be made to the , which supports the discretionary needs of the department.