Ralph Faudree, the former provost of the University of Memphis from 2001 to his retirement in 2012, died Tuesday, Jan. 13, according to the university.

Faudree also served as interim president of the university between the departure of V. Lane Rawlins and the arrival of Shirley Raines.

With a master’s degree and doctorate in mathematics, both from Purdue University, Faudree arrived at what was then Memphis State University in 1971. He became chairman of the mathematics department in 1983 as he earned numerous honors, including being a co-recipient of the university’s Distinguished Research Award and a six-time recipient of the Superior Performance in Research Award.

Faudree kept an active research schedule in the areas of graphical Ramsey theory and the Hamiltonian theory of graphs. That specific research included Faudree serving as a visiting professor at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland, the University of Paris and the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.

His work at the latter in Budapest led to a lecture series at the University of Memphis in honor of Dr. Paul Erdos, whom Faudree collaborated with.

As provost, Faudree helped establish such university institutions as the School of Urban Affairs and Public Policy, the Department of Earth Sciences and the Benjamin L. Hooks Institute for Social Change.