Sulzman taught in the crop and soil science department at OSU

Gazette-Times

Oregon State Police detectives continue to investigate the death of an Oregon State University faculty member who became ill while inside her vehicle on the campus Sunday afternoon and later died at a Corvallis hospital.

On Sunday at about 5:20 p.m., State Police troopers and Corvallis Fire Department personnel responded to a report of an ill woman in a car at 35th and Campus Way on the Oregon State University campus. Upon arrival, fire and police personnel found Elizabeth W. Sulzman, 40, from Philomath, gravely ill as her condition worsened quickly.

Sulzman was transported to Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center in Corvallis, where she died later Sunday evening. A preliminary investigation indicated she had deliberately ingested a chemical substance which may have led to her death.

Troopers and Oregon State University Environmental Health and Safety personnel responded to her office area and determined that there was no chemical hazard for the university.

"This is a very tragic turn of events," said Benton County District Attorney John Haroldson. "And I want to be as sensitive as possible to the family and hope that others will also honor their privacy under these terrible circumstances."

He added that the state medical examiner will do a complete investigation to confirm the cause and manner of Sulzman's death.

Sulzman, an associate professor in the department of crop and soil science, received the OSU Faculty Teaching Excellence Award in 2006. OSU officials said she was a beloved professor, known for her hands-on, highly interactive teaching style, who was involved in many interdisciplinary research projects at OSU. She joined OSU in 2000 and held degrees in biology and ecology from Yale University and Colorado State University.

According to a statement from Oregon State Police, no additional information related to the investigation will be released pending the autopsy results.