Dr. Gwynne Rife has been named to succeed Dr. Michael Homsher as the COS Faculty Chair for the 2007-08 academic year. This position was established during the spring of 2006 to honor faculty for distinguished service in their subject area. To be eligible, the faculty member must be tenured, have served a minimum of ten years at Findlay and have attained the rank of Associate Professor or Professor. Candidates are nominated from eligible COS faculty members and a committee reviews the candidate's accomplishments for a final selection. Teaching, scholarship, service and student achievements are all considered in the final selection with the expectation that the chosen recipient serve as an exemplary faculty member and mentor for the younger faculty of the college.

This year's recipient holds a bachelor's degree from Bowling Green State University in biological sciences, a master's in marine science from the University of Southern Mississippi, a master of arts in teaching in science education from Bowling Green State University and a doctorate in biological sciences from Bowling Green State University. She started teaching as an adjunct faculty member in 1992 and was hired as a full time faculty member in 1995. During her tenure at UF, she has been active in several science education grants coordinated by the College of Education. She served as co-director of the biology area and has served on the Honors Board, Technology Roundtable, the College of Sciences Curriculum Committee and has chaired UF's General Education Committee. She is an active member of the Ohio Academy of Science, National Science Teacher Association, Ohio College Biology Teacher Association, Sigma Xi, Ohio Biological Survey, National Marine Educator of Aquatic and Marine Science and the Great Lakes Educators of Aquatic and Marine Science. In the community, Dr. Rife is an active participant of the Habitat Management Committee of the Rieck Center for Habitat Studies and is a grassroots member of the Blanchard River Watershed Partnership.

As an educator, Dr. Rife has been a leader in the integration of technology into the classroom. She led a program at UF to use PDA technology in the classroom, participated in a laptop pilot project and used Blackboard to teach various classes online. She has led educational ventures for students including the most recent trip to Mexico to study whales and other marine life. In her Research Methods class, she has taught students how to investigate and process scientific data and successfully present their findings to peers at public presentations. Personally she has had several successful publications with other publications in progress. Her most recent publication was in the Summer 2006 National Science Teacher Association publication, Science Scope, and was entitled: "Fun in the Deep Sea: A Fun Inquiry with Bioluminescence."

Her plans as COS Faculty Chair include finding internal and external speakers that can highlight the interconnected nature of the sciences in the information age and ways to actively involve our adjuncts and graduate students in collaborative educational partnerships with full-time faculty members.