David T. Mason Papers, 1865-1999

David T. Mason was born January 7, 1937 in Berkeley, California. His parents, Lucile (Roush) Mason and Herbert Mason were renowned botanical scientists and longtime faculty at the University of California, Berkeley and Davis. David T. Mason earned his Bachelor of Arts in biology at Reed College in 1958. In 1961, David received a Master of Arts degree in zoology at the University of California, at Davis, where he went on to complete a PhD in Limnology in 1966. Soon after receiving his doctorate, David became an associate professor of Biology at Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington.

David integrated teaching and research with theatrical productions and creative writing. He was actively involved in producing and directing plays, and creating musical scores for countless Friends of Fairhaven Theater productions. He became especially well known for his performance art piece, "Blue Baroque."

As a much beloved professor at Fairhaven College, Mason taught a wide variety of inter-disciplinary classes including basic biology and ecology theory and practice. Among the very few publicly 'out' gay male teachers in the mid 1960s, David also created one of the first gay and lesbian studies classes in the Pacific Northwest. He was also well known for his theater courses and performances. Of particular note are his "Orpheo," "Dictionary" and "Opera" classes. David emphasized experiential learning. Classes such as the 'Lynden Recycling Project' helped increase awareness about the importance of recycling. Students in his gay studies class were invited to learn about gay culture by touring the local gay bar. 'The Course of the Stream' encouraged students to study natural habitats along rivers and streams in Whatcom County.

During the late 1960s through 1980s, David pursued various research and activist projects, and was awarded a Fulbright fellowship in 1973, which took him to Uruguay to pursue his environmental research. The Uruguay experience culminated in a series of traveling lectures and multimedia slideshows on environmental concerns which David presented to audiences as varied as learned biology scholars and school children. His sabbaticals and research trips took him mainly to the Alaskan arctic to study the effects of crude oil on natural habitats. His major research interests ranged from limnology studies of Mono Lake in California, and Antarctica, the impacts of sewage treatment and heavy metals on natural bodies of water in the arctic and the Pacific Northwest, and habitat studies along the lower Stehekin River, to ecological effects on plants and animals along the Nooksack River and Lake Abert in Oregon. He also studied the release of chemicals in Bellingham Bay by Georgia-Pacific mill. David produced numerous articles and research papers both published and unpublished for educational presentations and traveling multi-media slideshows.