Biologist Robert Thomas Chosen as Outstanding Teacher
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Jan. 17, 2006
Kathleen McPartland
530-898-4260
Biologist Robert Thomas Chosen as Outstanding Teacher
A 40-year veteran of teaching at California State University, Chico, Robert E. Thomas, Department of Biological Sciences, has been chosen as the Outstanding Teacher of 2005-2006 by the Faculty Recognition and Support Committee.
Thomas, who came to CSU, Chico in 1966 after receiving a PhD from Kent State University, received two Outstanding Professor Awards, one in 1983 and another in 1984, and three different Professional Achievement Honors in 1981, 1986 and 1994.
Thomas entered the Faculty Early Retirement Program in 2001. Before that, he taught vertebrate physiology, cell physiology, general biology for non-majors, as well as graduate courses. He served as a pre-med advisor and faculty advisor for the Pre-Med Association for 13 out of the last 18 years.
"Alumni that I talk to often ask after Dr. Thomas," said Patricia Edelmann, chair of the Department of Biological Sciences. "They tell me what an influence he has been on their personal and academic lives, and that he is one of the professors they really remember."
Post-baccalaureate biology major Anna Panighetti said, "Other students with whom I spoke agreed that Dr. Thomas' gift for teaching stems from the fact that he truly enjoys what he does. Even after more than 35 years of teaching, he approaches teaching with commitment, enthusiasm and an ever-present smile for his students. He is well known among biology students as the teacher of the most difficult course in the department, vertebrate physiology."
Thomas has been the principle or co-principle investigator in two-dozen funded research projects and published more than four-dozen research papers. Most recently, in 2005, he co-authored a paper that looked at DNA breaks in the mussel and clam following chronic field exposure to hydrocarbons from oil after the Exxon Valdez oil spill. In 2004, he co-authored papers on the impact on salmon eggs from the oil spill.
"Even as Bob closes his teaching career with the end of his FERP period during the 2006 spring semester, his rigorous teaching has not diminished," said Paul Zingg, president of CSU, Chico. "He has maintained his standards and expectations of high achievement while continually updating his courses and continuing his excellent record of academic advising for pre-professional students. In the last six years, 42 CSU, Chico graduates have entered MD, PhD, DDS, DO, or DVM programs, many as a result of Professor Thomas' guidance."