Arthur Gittins was born in Alberta Canada in 1926 and received his bachelors in Entomology from the University of Alberta in 1952. He received his master’s degree in entomology from the University of Idaho and his doctorate from Montana State University. Gittins started his professional career with the University of Idaho in 1953 as an instructor and research assistant and became the head of the Department of Entomology from 1968 until 1978. From there he transitioned to become the dean of graduate studies, director of the University Research Office, managing director of the Idaho Research Foundation, director of the University Press, director of the Laboratory Animal Research Facility and director of the Electron Microscopy Center and the associate vice president for research in 1984. He died in 1999 in Moscow, ID.