Professor Robert Fahrner, professor emeritus of UC Davis and longtime San Francisco resident, died on Dec. 6 at St. Francis Hospital in San Francisco of an AIDS-related condition.
Appointed chair of the dramatic art department at UC Davis in 1972 as an assistant professor, he held that position for 22 years, setting a record as the longest-serving chair in the history of the campus. During this period, for three years, he was also associate dean of the College of Letters and Science.
He was promoted to full professor in 1977 and became professor emeritus in 1994.
He published many articles in academic journals in the United States and United Kingdom on 18th-century English theater. He also published a book on Charles Dibdin (1745-1814), in his time an immensely popular London composer and performer.
Professor Fahrner is survived by three brothers and a sister, numerous friends and his companion, Jose.
Bob Hamilton, a basketball coach with UC Davis for 26 years, died Dec. 7 in his Davis home of cancer. He was 73.
A popular coach with many fans among students as well as the general campus community, Mr. Hamilton worked at UC Davis until the 1988-89 season when he was reassigned to teaching duties. He then left UC Davis to coach men's basketball at Yuba College.
During his career at UC Davis, Mr. Hamilton's team won seven conference titles, including five straight in the 1970s and had only two losing league seasons. In addition, only two of his four-year players failed to graduate.
Mr. Hamilton is survived by his wife, Marietta; his daughter, Shana, and her husband, Mitch, Campbell.
