Architect and art professor emeritus Richard D. Cramer, who chaired the University of California, Davis, art department for 15 years, died in Davis Friday, April 21, of a heart attack. He was 80. Cramer's contributions to the aesthetics of the campus and the city of Davis were many. As art department chair, he oversaw the growth and sustenance of a department of great renown, which included artists Robert Arneson, Wayne Thiebaud, Manuel Neri, Cornelia Schulz, William Wiley, Ruth Horsting and Roy De Forest. It was during his chairmanship that the art department's Richard L. Nelson gallery was dedicated. Hired during Cramer's tenure as art department chair, Cornelia Schulz recalls his leadership. "Richard Cramer was a kind and generous man, with a deep understanding and appreciation for art, its production, and its importance in the culture. His chairmanship of the department was a period of rich growth and exciting development for the department," Schulz said. "His easy manner in working with a diverse and often contentious group of artists and scholars allowed the department to flourish and sustain a high level of teaching excellence, creative productivity and national recognition," she said. Beyond the campus, Cramer's architectural influence could be seen in homes that he designed in Davis, the Bay Area and the Sierra, as well as in his expertise in solar architectural design and energy conservation planning. He wrote recently that in his architectural practice he tried "to heed Frank Lloyd Wright's admonition to 'grace rather than disgrace' these lovely places." In 1979, he was honored by former First Lady Rosalynn Carter for his community work in helping to write the energy building code in Davis. He chaired the board of the Davis Art Center for two years, during which time the center's current building was designed and built. Cramer joined the UC Davis campus in 1954, working first in the campus's architects and engineers office, then joining the faculty in 1956, teaching architectural design, history and theory. He chaired several major committees of the campus's Academic Senate. He became chair of the art department in 1966, retiring from the campus and that position in 1981. Following his retirement, he chaired the UC Davis Emeriti Association. He was born Nov. 6, 1919, in Cleveland and had lived in Davis 46 years. He received his bachelor of arts degree from Amherst College in 1941 and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. After serving four years in the United States Navy (including three years as a gunnery officer on a cruiser in the Pacific), he received his master of fine arts degree in architecture from Princeton University. While in the Navy, he met and married Alison Swartz of Clarksburg, Calif. She served as concert manager for the campus's Committee for Arts and Lectures (now UC Davis Presents) for many years. After Richard Cramer retired from the university, the couple traveled in Europe and to visit their children, and spent as much time together as they could before Alison died of cancer in 1983. The couple was well known in the campus arts community, says UC Davis music professor D. Kern Holoman. "The Cramers were beloved members of the UC Davis arts community and major patrons and donors to its many programs, including UC Davis Presents and the UCD Symphony Orchestra, among others," Holoman said. In recent years, Cramer found companionship with Martha Dickman, who shared his enthusiasm for architecture, music, ballet, theater and museums in the Bay Area and in Europe. He is survived by his daughter, Terry, of Juneau; his son, Steve, Steve's wife, Meta, and their two children, Rachel and David, of Columbiana, Ohio; and Martha Dickman, of Davis. A memorial service will be held at 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 3, at the Davis Unitarian Church, 27074 Patwin Road. A reception will be held following the service. Contributions in his memory may be made to the Richard D. Cramer Memorial Fund/UC Davis Foundation, One Shields Avenue, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA 95616. The contributions will benefit the campus's new Center for the Arts, a project he had actively supported, both financially and with time and advice. The family requests no flowers. Media contact: -- Lisa Klionsky, News Service, (530) 752-9841, lrklionsky@ucdavis.edu