Former Biology Professor named to Missouri State Wall of Fame (5/08) A true citizen-scientist, Dr. Russell Rhodes served the university for 26 years as biology department head, interim dean of the College of Health and Human Services and director of the Center for Scientific Research and Education. He was also a two-term member of the Springfield City Council. Considered a “master advisor” by his peers, Rhodes advised numerous graduate students and more than 100 undergrads. Many of his students have moved on to successful careers because of his investment in their lives.

Recent Graduate to Become Education Coordinator (12/4/07) Sarah Johnson, recent graduate, has a job at a watershed conservation and education group called the Roaring Fork Conservancy in the Aspen, CO, area. She will be their Education Coordinator. Sarah has had several temporary jobs in Colorado and, most recently, at the North Cascades Institute in Washington to prepare her for this position. 

Biology Graduate Student Receives Award  (5/16/07)  Ryan Combs was awarded a Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Fund Grant from the American Museum of Natural History in the amount of $1660 to support his research. The competition for the Roosevelt Grant is open to advanced graduate students (both MA/MS and Ph.D.) and postdoctoral researchers, so Ryan’s award is quite an accomplishment. Ryan’s research involves the impact of post-Pleistocene recolonization history and dispersal behavior on the genetic structure (phylogeography) of Western Cottonmouths (Agkistrodon piscivorus leucostoma). The money will be used to defray the cost of travel to collect the snakes and the laboratory expenses to sequence their DNA. Ryan Combs is a student in Dr. Mark McKnight’s lab.