Biographical Note

Kendall W. King (1926-1990) was the son of Hilda Bainton King of Kennett Square, Pennsylvania and Charles Glen King, a widely known biochemist and former professor at the University of Pittsburgh. He had two siblings, a brother, Robert D. King, M.D., Chancellor's Distinguished Service Professor of Neurological Surgery at Upstate Medical University, and a sister, Mrs. Dorothy Hammel. Kendall King married Kathleen Abbitt (later Young), who graduated from Virginia Tech in the class of 1947, and they had two children, Russell and Virginia. He received B.S. (class of 1949) and M.S. degrees from Virginia Tech and a Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Wisconsin.

King was a member of Virginia Tech's faculty for 15 years. He had a split appointment in biology and biochemistry and nutrition, but he transferred entirely to the Department of Biochemistry and Nutrition shortly after R. W. Engel came to Virginia Tech to head the new department in 1952. King served as department head from 1966 to 1968. He helped develop the new department's curriculum, generated more than $1 million in teaching and research grants, andhelped start its study abroad program. King pioneered work in how complex carbohydrates are digested by microorganisms, but he was most noted for his pioneering work in Haiti, establishing the Mothercraft Center concept. He served as consultant to the U.S. Agency for International Development and World Health Organization, establishing similar programsin other nations.

In 1986 he joined the Research Coporation, a New York foundation for scientific research, as assistant vice president for grants. He becamae vice president in 1977 with full responsibility for planning and managing the corporation's $6 million annual grants program. That program became a major source for basic research funds for liberal arts colleges. He also administreed the corporation's research and traning project in public health and nutrition in Latin America and the Caribbean.

From 1983 to 1986, King was vice president of Remick Associates, a chemical, pharmaceutical, and microelectronics recruiting firm. In 1986 he became associate dean at Western Carolina University (WCU) with princial responsibilities in research addministration. He worked closely with WCU's international educational and technical assistance projects and started the university's first scholarship fund for international students. He died in 1990 at age 64.

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