Governance

Christina Wills is an Associate Biology Professor at Rockhurst University in Kansas City Missouri. At Rockhurst she teaches General Biology I and II, Biology for Non-Majors, Anatomy and Physiology, Comparative Physiology, and the senior capstone course.  Her scholarship of teaching and learning (SOTL) research focuses on writing to learn physiology, democratic science classrooms, assessment, and service learning.  Christina’s other research interests include physiological ecology of invertebrates and urban ecology.  She received her B.S. in Biology from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville in 1998.  In 2007, Christina earned her Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.  She has been a member of ACUBE since 2008, has served as the Executive Membership Secretary for Membership from 2012-2015, served as the ACUBE president from 2015-2017, and has now resumed her role as Membership Secretary and taken over managing the ACUBE website.

Executive Secretary
Paul Pickhardt
Lakeland University

Paul Pickhardt is a Professor of Biology at Lakeland University in Sheboygan, Wisconsin.  He teaches Ecology, Evolution, Environmental Science, Life Sciences II (Diversity of Life), Tropical Biology, Invertebrate Biology and Parasitology, Botany, Forestry, Scientific Analysis and Writing, and an Environment and Consumption course. Paul’s research program focuses on the ecotoxicology of mercury at the base of aquatic food webs and he’s particularly interested in how sub-lethal concentrations of mercury accumulate, are transferred, and impact primary producers and their invertebrate consumers in freshwater habitats.  He has been a member of ACUBE since 2007. For more about Paul, see his website. 

Social Media Chair
Ryan Dunk
Syracuse University

Ryan Dunk is a PhD candidate at Syracuse University in Syracuse, NY. He has taught majors and nonmajors introductory biology and a nonmajors plant biology course, as well as worked as an HHMI-supported fellow focused on increasing the use of active learning in large-enrollment biology courses such as ecology and evolution. Ryan’s research focuses on educational, social, and other factors related to acceptance of evolution, as well as increasing diversity in STEM education through equitable teaching practices.

Historian
Conrad Toepfer
Brescia University

Conrad is an Associate Professor at Brescia University in Owensboro, KY. He is an aquatic ecologist by training but, given Brescia’s size, is expected to cover everything from protists to ecosystems. He has taught nonmajors biology, ecology and evolution (and upper-level versions of both), biological diversity, applied environmental science, conservation biology, marine biology, animal behavior, vertebrate biology, advanced physiology, deep time biology, and statistics. Conrad joined ACUBE around 2000 and has been unsuccessfully avoiding governance duties for the past decade.  While he greatly appreciates receiving the 2013 Honorary Life Membership, he will probably contribute another decade’s worth of service before he feels like he earned it.

Editor of Bioscene
Robert Yost (No picture)
Indiana University – Purdue University

Steering Committee Member
Holly Nance
College of Coastal Georgia

Holly Nance is an Assistant Professor of Biology at the College of Coastal Georgia. She earned a Master’s in Geological Sciences from The University of Texas at Austin, and a PhD in Biological Sciences from Clemson University. Her research background is in population genetics, and she currently mentors undergraduate students whose research focuses on epigenetics, eDNA, and seafood mislabeling. She teaches intro biology courses, cell and molecular biology, and genetics.  She loves teaching and continues to work toward being an engaging and innovative instructor.

Steering Committee Member
Scott Shreve
Lindenwood University-Belleville

Scott Shreve is an Assistant Professor of Biology at Lindenwood University-Belleville in Belleville, IL.  He teaches Introductory Biology (evolution, ecology, and biodiversity), Animal Biology, Evolution, Invertebrate Zoology, and Field Taxonomy.  His research interests include the biodiversity of bark lice (Psocoptera), and fine-scale habitat preferences of insects.  In the classroom, he is interested the use of primary literature as a teaching tool.  Outside of work, he enjoys science fiction and playing games with his family.  He has been an ACUBE member since 2015, and joined the Steering Committee in 2017.

Steering Committee Member
Ashley Driver
University of Scranton

Ashley Driver is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biology at the University of Scranton where she teaches Cellular Biology and Developmental Biology. Her research focuses on the role cholesterol biosynthesis plays during early neural development. Additionally, she has interest in finding ways to improve student metacognition in upper-level Biology courses.  She joined ACUBE in 2018 and hopes to gain insight on how to improve inclusivity and critical thinking in both lecture and laboratory settings.

Steering Committee Member and President Elect
Melissa Haswell
Davenport University

Melissa Haswell is an associate professor in the science department at Davenport University in Michigan. Melissa received her Bachelor of Science degree in biology from Alma College and completed two master’s degrees (Health Promotion and Conservation Biology), as well as her Ph.D. in Educational Leadership with an emphasis in biology education from Central Michigan University.  After completing her second master’s degree, she worked as a research assistant for the Aquatic Toxicology Department at Michigan State University for 2.5 years on an ecological risk assessment examining the effects of dioxin contamination in the Tittabawassee River Watershed in central Michigan.  While she enjoyed ecological field work, teaching was her passion, which is why she decided to pursue the education-based Ph.D. She has been teaching anatomy and physiology, as well as pathophysiology, for pre-nursing students for the last 14 years, and also teaches introductory biology and science ethics for majors.  Currently, Melissa conducts science education research in both the SOTL and TAR formats on the implementation of various learning modalities such as case-based and problem-based teaching & learning, dialogue education, and genetic literacy of nursing students.  Another research interest for Melissa is the social justice aspects of science education related to women in STEM in which she has published a book chapter about the barriers of gender normative language for women pursuing STEM careers. Melissa is also is a Higher Education Ambassador for HHMI BioInteractive (2017-present) and was Science Case Network Fellow and Scholar under the mentorship of Patricia Marsteller from Emory University from (2015-2018) supported in part by NSF RCN UBE grant # 1344208.

Steering Committee Member
Heather Seitz
Johnson County Community College

For more than ten years, Dr. Seitz has taught in the community college classroom. Dr. Seitz currently teaches in both traditional and online environments.  Her educational research focus is on assessment in online learning and engaging non-traditional students in an online classroom.  As a PULSE leadership fellow, Dr. Seitz has been involved in numerous projects to effect change in undergraduate life sciences education at the departmental level.  She has worked within our regional network framework to form communities of practice across institution types to improve life science education.  As an editor for the Journal of Microbiology and Biology Education Tips and Tools section Dr. Seitz has helped to engage a community of educators in developing best practices that are easy to implement in the classroom.  Finally, as a first-generation college student Dr. Seitz is always mindful of the impact educational interventions can have on student success.

Steering Committee Member
George Todd
Coastal Pines Technical College

George Todd is the lead biology instructor at Coastal Pines Technical College in Waycross, GA.  He earned his Bachelor of Science in biology at Purdue University and his Master of Science in biology at Georgia Southern University.  His research background is in ecology with a focus on animal behavior.  He was a teaching assistant at Georgia Southern University for an introductory biology lab course for non-majors.  He currently teaches general biology to dual enrollment high school students as well as microbiology to traditional students in the summer.  He joined ACUBE in 2017 and hopes to use the networking opportunities to become a more effective instructor.  Outside of the classroom, George enjoys playing trombone in various ensembles including brass quintets, jazz bands and orchestras.

Steering Committee Member
Tara Prestholdt (no picture)
University of Portland

ACUBE’s Official Documents:

ACUBE Constitution and Bylaws for operating procedures amended in 2020.

Articles of Incorporation for not-for-profit status.

ACUBE Steering Committee Handbook amended 2020 to view description of officer responsibilities.