Welcome to Arkansas State University!

News Article

University Community Mourns Passing of Dr. Howard Keene, Emeritus Professor

02/10/2021

JONESBORO – The university community extends sympathy to the family, friends and former associates of Dr. Howard Keene, emeritus professor of animal science, who died Tuesday, Feb. 9.

An Air Force veteran, Keene joined the A-State faculty in 1964.  In addition to teaching, he also was interim chair of the Department of Agriculture during the 1984-85 academic year. 

Keene was known as a passionate adviser to his students, encouraging them in their pursuits of animal science and veterinary medicine careers. He served for 29 years until his retirement in 1993.  

He was preceded in death by his wife, Gerrilyn Ann Keene, in 2019.

Survivors include two sons, Jim Keene and Keith Keene, who live in Texas, and a daughter, Sherri Ann Baskette, who lives in New Jersey.

Scholarship donations to the General Agriculture Scholarship fund, in the name of Dr. Keene, may be made to ASU System Foundation, P.O. Box 1990, State University, AR 72467.

Arkansas State University will light the clock tower of the Dean B. Ellis Library scarlet Thursday evening as a memorial tribute to Dr. Keene and his longtime service to the Department of Agriculture and Arkansas State University.

His complete obituary is online.

# # #

Howard Keene
Dr. Howard Keene, 1930-2021