A professor who reached the University’s highest honor for teaching and research, Arthur J. Riopelle, died at the age of 91 on Feb. 11 in Houston, according to a University news release.
 
Riopelle was a psychology professor emeritus who worked at the University for 16 years and devoted his work to primate research, leading to the publication of his work about the albino gorilla in National Geographic Magazine.
 
Riopelle earned his Boyd Professorship in 1977 and retired from the University in 1988, according to the release.
 
“An amateur violinist, Riopelle was an avid supporter of the performing arts at the university and also donated an endowment to be used to purchase materials in his field of psychology to LSU Libraries in the 1990s,” the release states.
 
While the release says information about Riopelle’s services is unknown at this time, his family has asked friends to make contributions in his memory to the LSU Library in lieu of flowers.
 
 
 
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