We are transitioning to summer mode here at Ohio State. Life is much calmer on campus, but there is a lot of work going on in the background as we welcome new students to campus for orientation in preparation for autumn semester. We’ve got another large class of new first years and transfers scheduled to join us. We are also delighted to be able to host students at Stone Lab and our team has a full slate of course offerings scheduled. And we’ve got researchers (faculty and students) travelling all over Ohio and the U.S. to conduct field work. This might be pretty mundane reading, but I actually feel delighted to share the normal and mundane as something exceptional given none of this happened in summer of 2020 or 2021. It is easy to take for granted things like on campus orientation, travel to conduct field research, and classes at Stone Lab, but I’m not doing so this year. I also want to thank all of you who have donated to the SENR or Stone Lab scholarship funds, which support many students taking classes and living on Gibraltar Island this summer. Your contributions are truly making a difference as the field experiences SENR offers are often the most impactful thing we do to prepare future environmental professionals.
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I also wanted to share with you all that after 31 years at Ohio State, David Hix has retired. David served 31 years as a faculty with us. He was one of the most committed teachers and thoughtful faculty I have managed. He was recognized for his outstanding teaching and service multiple times over his career. He was also honored with the Lorax Award from Chadwick Arboretum and the Outstanding Communicator of the Year award from the Ohio Society of American Foresters. David was an accomplished researcher with over 36-peer reviewed journal articles, with a primary research interest in the successional dynamics of forest ecosystems in response to human-caused and natural forms of disturbance. Finally, David was integral to SENR maintaining its accreditation with the Society of American Foresters.
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At the end of this spring semester, David moved back to Wisconsin to retire and explore the forests and natural areas of a place he greatly loves. I am going to miss David’s steady impact on our community. I know there are some among you who may have some fond memories of David as well, so I’d like to invite any of you to share a memory or an anecdote regarding how David Hix impacted your education or career by sending a note to Trish Taylor (taylor.2961@osu.edu). We’ll forward any memories we receive to David to honor his legacy and impact as a professor in SENR.
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