Emeritus professor of geography and former associate dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, James Lindberg, died on August 31, 2015, in Denver, CO.
James Beckwith Lindberg was born June 5, 1928, in Chicago to Ralph and Rubie (Beckwith) Lindberg. He graduated from Calumet High School on Chicago's south side and received his bachelor's degree from Denison University in Granville, OH. In 1951, he married Sara Jane Brown in River Forest, IL. After receiving his MBA from the University of Michigan he served four years in the Air Force in Germany. He then worked as a petroleum economist for Standard Oil of Indiana in Tulsa, OK, before earning a PhD in geography at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He was appointed to the geography faculty at the University of Iowa in 1960 and served as department chair from 1977 to 1983. From 1984 to 1998 he was associate dean in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. He returned to teaching in the geography department until his retirement in 2002.
As a geographer his research focused on energy, particularly the oil and gas industry. He co-authored A Preface to Economic Geography, a standard text in the field. He held visiting positions at several universities and traveled to Australia twice with his family for appointments at Monash University in Melbourne and the University of Wollongong. As associate dean for academic affairs, much of his work focused on crafting academic policy. He helped develop agreements that allow students to easily transition from Iowa's community colleges to one of the state's three universities—a change that makes a college education more affordable. In his retirement he wrote a history of the University of Iowa Department of Geography.
His calm, fair-minded leadership style led to numerous committee and board assignments including the Governor's Task Force on Energy, University of Iowa Campus Planning Committee, Iowa City Parks and Recreation Commission, Iowa City Riverfront Commission, Johnson County Regional Planning Commission, and the University of Iowa Museum of Art Advisory Board. He was a member of the Association of American Geographers and served on review committees for the Danforth Fellowship Program, Fulbright Scholars Program, and the National Science Foundation.
Jim was a lifelong cyclist and rode in the first RAGBRAI. He biked to work daily and almost always pedaled home for lunch. As a member of the Parks and Recreation Commission in the 1970s, he advocated for some of Iowa City's first dedicated bike paths and for the creation of Willow Creek Park. Jim and Sally were ice skaters as well, cutting a graceful swath, arm-in-arm, across the City Park pond. He loved music, "conducting" concerts while listening to the radio, and enjoying many Hancher events and band concerts in the park.
During their 62 years together Jim and Sally traveled often—seeing new places and returning to those they loved—but nothing pleased them more than sitting on the front porch of their Richards Street home eating cherry pie with neighbors and friends.
After Sally died in 2013, Jim spent his last years in Denver, CO. He is survived by his children, James Lindberg (Ginny Threefoot) of Denver, CO, and Anne Lindberg (Derek Porter) of Ancramdale, NY; sister-in-law Wendy Brown (Carolyn Dyer) of Iowa City; brother-in-law David Brown (Lin) of Asheville, NC; and grandchildren James, Eleanor, and Elizabeth Lindberg of Denver. His sister Suzanne preceded him in death.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorials be directed to the Hancher Circle Fund to support arts event programming: University of Iowa Foundation, P.O. Box 4550, Iowa City, Iowa 52244-4550 or hancher.uiowa.edu/support.
—Iowa City Press-Citizen