Franceschi, Biological Sciences chief, dies unexpectedly

Vincent Ray Franceschi, 52, director of the School of Biological Sciences and the Electron Microscopy Center at Washington State University, died unexpectedly on Saturday at Pullman Regional Hospital.

Born March 1, 1953, in Napa, Calif., he was the son of Giuseppe and Rita Bertolucci Franceschi. He graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara, in 1976, obtained an MS from Iowa State University in 1978, and earned a doctorate in botany from the University of California, Davis, in 1981.

Over the course of his career, Franceschi received many honors, including the WSU College of Sciences Distinguished Faculty Research Award in 2004. Also in 2004, he was included on the ISI list of researchers Most Highly Cited in Animal and Plant Sciences, a distinction based on the high-profile nature of his more than 150 publications.

In 1982, following a year of postdoctoral study at E.I. duPont de Nemours and Company, Wilmington, Del., Franceschi accepted a position at WSU in the Department of Botany. He rose to the rank of full professor in 1992 and assumed the directorship of the WSU Electron Microscopy Center two years later. 

The Department of Botany, along with several other departments, was reorganized into the School of Biological Sciences in 1999. Despite the intensity of his research and instructional load, Franceschi volunteered in 2001 to assume the director’s position for the school, a multi-campus academic unit with more than 35 faculty, 60 graduate students and a burgeoning undergraduate program. 

Through his stewardship, the school moved forward with the successful addition of new faculty, reassessment of its undergraduate course offerings and a sharper image of its future. Franceschi instinctively understood the needs and aspirations of each faculty member in the unit and worked in a collegial manner to form faculty consensus and shape the school’s future.  His rapport with and support for the school’s staff was extraordinary. In these four years, he provided perhaps his finest service to his colleagues, his university and his profession.

Franceschi dedicated his life to plant science, focusing on the relationship between plant structure and functions. Over 27 years, he studied cellular and biochemical mechanisms controlling carbon assimilation, transport and partitioning of substances (sucrose, nucleic acids and proteins) in plants. He demonstrated how vitamin C is transported in plants, which could lead to improvement of the nutritional value of food. 

He also recently contributed to the discovery of a previously unknown form of photosynthesis in plants. Since it is a novel structural variant of the most efficient pathway by which some plants perform photosynthesis, there is interest in exploiting this discovery towards the development of crops to withstand adverse conditions like heat, drought and rising carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere. Throughout his career, Franceschi studied calcium oxalate in plants, which is important in regulating calcium levels, and in plant defense against herbivores.

He had another project, working with colleagues in Norway, in which he identified mechanisms used by conifers in defense against bark beetle attack, a major problem in the forest industry. He had an extraordinary record of collaborative research, which included scientists all over WSU and at many universities across the U.S. and worldwide, including Texas, California, Argentina, Korea, Australia, India, Germany, Russia, Iran, and Israel.  He was skillful in procuring grant funds for his research program, and he obtained millions of dollars to support his projects.         

Franceschi was skillful in microscopy, using various methods to examine and photograph the innermost workings of plants. His wonderful micrographs have graced many prominent scientific journals, including the cover of Science magazine.

His research is known by plant scientists worldwide through his many publications and through his membership in the American Society of Plant Biologists and the Botanical Society of America. More information about his life’s work can be found on his website: https://www.sci.wsu.edu/sbs/franceschi.

In addition to being a dedicated leader and a premier scientist, Franceschi was respected as a teacher. For many years, he taught plant anatomy and courses in electron microscopy technique.  He was adviser to many graduate students and mentor to visiting scientists in his laboratory and the EM Center. He was exceptionally generous with his time in teaching techniques and cell biology to any student or researcher who sought his help.

Franceschi also was a science fiction enthusiast. In his spare time, he loved gardening. He waged a never-ending battle against the squirrels. In this, he was aided by his faithful cat, Buddy.

Franceschi is survived by his fiancée, Mechthild Tegeder, and his parents, to whom he was a very caring son. He is also survived by his brother Joseph, his wife Patricia and their son Anthony, of Salt Lake City, Utah, and by his sister Angela Worden and her husband Chris of Omond Beach, Fla., and their daughter Gina, of Weaverville, Calif.  He leaves behind many members of his extended family in the Napa, Calif., area and in Italy, and his many, many friends and colleagues at WSU and universities across the United States and in a number of foreign countries.

Those who knew Franceschi will remember him as a kind, friendly person with a keen scientific mind and a devotion to his profession. He had excellent communication skills and fostered an “open door” policy when it came to encouraging interaction with faculty, staff and students. He was a prolific scientist whose legacy of work will go on through all his publications, through his influence on colleagues, and through the careers of the many students he mentored. He will be greatly missed, and impossible to replace.

A memorial service to celebrate his life is planned for 3 p.m. on Friday, May 6, at the Presbyterian Church, 1630 NE Stadium Way, Pullman. The Rev. Roger Lynn will officiate. Immediately following the service, his friends and colleagues are invited to an informal reception at 240 SW Blaine St., Pullman.  The family suggests that, in lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Vince Franceschi Scholarship Fund, through the Washington State Employees Credit Union, Pullman Branch, 1220 S. Grand Ave., Pullman WA 99163.