W. Dexter Whitehead prints

Dr. Walter Dexter Whitehead (1922-2008) was a professor of physics at the University of Virginia from 1956 to 1992. Walter Dexter Whitehead was born in San Diego, California in 1922. Whitehead grew up in Richmond and Old Church, Va., and attended the McGuire's University School. He was enrolled in the University of Virginia and was awarded a B.S. in chemistry (1944), M.S. in physics (1946), and Ph.D. in physics (1949) and was a member of ATO, the Raven Society, the Jefferson Society, Sigma Xi and several physics and University organizations. In 1956 he joined the physics faculty at the University of Virginia. He became a professor of physics in 1962 and chairman of the department in 1968. In 1965 he was appointed director of the Center for Advanced Studies and in 1969 became dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences; both positions he held until 1989. He retired as Alumni Professor of Physics Emeritus in 1992.Dexter was also an artist and many of his paintings reflect his love for both the University and Maine. He died at the age of 85 on May 27, 2008.

Sources Bromley, Anne E. “In Memoriam: Dexter Whitehead,” UVA Today, University Of Virginia, May 28,2008, https://news.virginia.edu/content/memoriam-dexter-whitehead.

Carlson, E. Mary. “U.Va. Profiles: W. Dexter Whitehead: Physicist, Administrator and Painter,” UVA Today, University Of Virginia, November 26,2007, https://news.virginia.edu/content/uva-profiles-w-dexter-whitehead-physicist-administrator-and-painter.