Fred Easton, a professor in the Martin J. Whitman School of Management, died last month, according to an SU News release Thursday. He was 68.

Easton taught supply chain management, advanced courses in spreadsheet management science and service systems management and was the director of the Robert H. Brethen Operations Management Institute at Whitman, according to his faculty page. Easton also published research papers about workforce staffing and scheduling under uncertainty, service operations and cross-training.

He joined the Whitman faculty in 1986, after being named a Boeing Fellow in 1982 and an Edna Benson Fellow in 1983 on the West Coast. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Washington in operations management and served as faculty at California State University in Fresno, where he earned an M.B.A. in 1971.

In addition to his academic career, Easton was an avid outdoorsman, participating in sailing, skiing, camping, flying planes and cycling, according to the release. He cycled about 1,500 miles per year, including in the annual Great Race, an Auburn triathlon that Easton competed in for 15 years. His family and friends will participate in the race this year in his memory, according to the release.

SU will hold a Celebration of Life to honor Easton on Saturday, Aug. 11, at 1 p.m., in the Whitman building’s atrium.