On Friday, February 10, 2006, Dr. Michael T. Homsher was named as the first College of Sciences Faculty Chair.  This position was established for the 2006-2007 year to honor individuals 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 must have attained the rand of Associate Professor or Professor.  Candidates were nominated by the college from eligible faculty members and a selection committee made up of area directors reviewed candidate accomplishments.  The committee selected a recipient for this honor based on success in their subject field including teaching, scholarship, service and student achievements.  It is expected that the recpient 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 Marietta College in mathematics and chemistry.  His master's degree is in chemistry from Southern Connecticut State College and his Ph.D. is in Biology and Aquatic Ecology from The University of Toledo.  After 10 years of corporate experience, Dr. Homsher came to The University of Findlay in 1990 as the first full-time professor in the newly created Environmental and Hazardous Materials Program. He has been important in the early growth of this program in designing much of the early curriculum and has extended his expertise to the current environmental degree completion and graduate programs and the undergraduate biology area.  He has been a leader in integrating technology into his classroom through the utilization of Blackboard, Tegrity and online laboratory experiences for students.  He is active on University committees and most recently served as Co-Chair for the Faculty Services Committee, faculty representative to the Student Affairs Committee of the Board of Trustees and co-advisor to the student Democrats Club.  He is active in his research and is a regular presenter at local and regional conferences.  His expertise has been shared with the community through his involvement with area high school teachers and organizations such as the Blanchard Valley Watershed Group.