2008-09
Dr. Timothy J. Murphy has been named to succeed Dr. Gwynne Rife as the COS Faculty Chair for the 2008-09 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 of Science degree from Ferris State University in environmental health, a Master of Science degree from The University of Findlay in environmental, safety and health management, and a doctorate in environmental science from The Ohio State University. He came to the university in 1998 after 15 years in the private sector of environmental remediation to manage the University’s Environmental Resource Training Center (ERTC) and started teaching as an instructor in 2000. Dr. Murphy moved over to the academic side fulltime in 2002. During his tenure at UF he has been active in training and academic grants coordinated by the ERTC and the College of Science. He has served on the University Faculty Senate, the Graduate Faculty Standards Committee, and the International Education Council. He has been an active member of the National Environmental Health Association, the Ohio Environmental Health Association, and the Association of Environmental Health Academic Programs. He has been a member of the Center for Disease Control’s Environmental Public Health Leadership Institute (EPHLI), first as a fellow and now as a mentor for the past two years. Dr. Murphy is very active with student organizations on campus including the Oiler Environmental Health Organization (faculty advisor), the University of Findlay Martial Arts Club (advisor and instructor), and Habitat for Humanity Alternative Spring Break (volunteer).

 As an educator, Dr. Murphy has been a leader in the integration of distance learning programs, was the lead instructor on integrating the Masters of Science program into a distance learning format using WebCT, and now uses Blackboard to teach various classes online. In his ENVM 598 Research Methods class, he has taught students how to investigate and process scientific data and successfully present their findings to peers at public presentations. Personally he has had several successful publications with other publications in progress. His most recent publication “Engineered municipal solid waste for laboratory studies” is currently in review in Waste Management.

His plans as COS Faculty Chair are to lead the "Greening" of the University of Findlay in the areas of sustainability, waste reduction, and energy reduction.  This effort would not only be geared towards environmental sustainability but towards reducing the university's costs, and educating our students to the benefits of green thinking on campus, at their homes and in life.  He will be hosting a series of events including guest speakers on global warming and climate change, alternative energy and how diverse science backgrounds can be used and will be needed to work towards a sustainable world.