Salisbury never sacrificed his teaching for his research, unlike many other professors, according to Romesburg.

“He really loved the teaching aspect more than anything else,” he said.

Michelle Salisbury recalled that her father loved books and music so much that, when asked, he could never name a favorite author or composer.

“He read everything there was: non-fiction and fiction, history and philosophy,” she said.

Salisbury always put other people before himself, according to Michelle.

“He would pick up hitchhikers off the street, he would help those he thought were suffering,” she said. “He wanted to make sure everyone had human rights.”

Michelle said she remembered her father often quizzing his children about the meaning of life.

“He didn’t really give us an answer, but he just asked us periodically throughout our lives until we had our priorities straight,” she said. “He just really cared about his children having an opinion and provoking thought.”

His wife and their 5-year-old triplet daughters live in Orem, Utah. The family had planned to reunite in Utah when Salisbury’s temporary position concluded this summer, or in China if the position became permanent.

Harvard issued a travel advisory regarding SARS for the first time on March 28 as international health organizations issued warnings about the spread of the disease.

Last week Harvard updated its travel advisory regarding SARS to include Toronto, Ontario, Canada, where more than 200 cases have been reported.