He had these eyes . It's something anyone who came into contact with him will always remember. Vinyard earned his Ph.D. from Kansas in 1977 in aquatic ecology. He served on numerous committees, including the U.S. Bureau of Land Management's Northwestern Great Basin Resource Advisory Council, the Carson River Basin Technical Advisory Committee and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Cui-ui Recovery Plan Team. He is survived by his wife, Deirdre, director of the university's Intensive English Language Center, as well as a son and daughter in elementary school.
Funeral arrangements are pending.