Memorial Service Held For Murdered University of Alabama Professors

University Alabama Huntsville held a memorial service Friday for two black faculty members and their department head murdered allegedly by a colleague disgruntled because the university denied her tenure.

Huntsville police charged Dr. Amy Bishop with capital murder in the Feb. 12 shooting deaths of Dr. Adriel D. Johnson, Sr., associate professor of biological science; Dr. Maria Ragland Davis, associate professor of biological science, and G.K. Padila, department of biological sciences chairman. Padila,52, was a native of India.

Bishop, a Harvard University Ph.D, allegedly pulled out a gun and began shooting during a routine department meeting. The shooting destroyed the 11-member department. In addition to the three killed, Bishop allegedly wounded three others. Hospital officials released one person.

More than 3,000 students and faculty members attended the memorial service. Johnson, who in 1989 joined the University of Alabama Huntsville faculty, taught general biology, organismal biology, genetics, biochemistry, anatomy and physiology, neurobiology, cellular, molecular and developmental biology. A prolific researcher, his areas of expertise focused on cell biology and nutritional physiology. Johnson authored numerous scientific journal articles.

An Eagle Scout, Johnson was active with the National Eagle Scout Association and the Boy Scouts. He also was actively involved in encouraging black students to pursue degrees in math and the sciences. Johnson earned a bachelor's degree in biology from Washington University, two masters degrees in biology from Tennessee Technology University and a PhD in animal science from North Carolina State University.

Johnson, a Tuskegee, Ala., native, was buried Friday.

Davis, 52, joined the University Alabama Huntsville faculty in 2002, teaching plant genomics and biotechnology. The university awarded Davis a grant to assist her research in plant defense responses to fungal pathogens. The University of Michigan awarded her a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering. She earned a master's degree in chemical engineering and a PhD in biochemistry and plant pathology from North Carolina State University. 

Davis, a Detroit native, was a breast cancer survivor.