Donald E. Stearns, Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
Donald Edison Stearns is Professor of Biology, Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College, where he taught in Wagner’s Hesburgh Award-winning First-Year Program from its inception in fall, 1998 through fall 2003, when he became an associate dean of the faculty with responsibilities in the areas of assessment, pedagogy, special programs, and grants. During 2004-2005, Donald served full-time as the associate provost and the registrar, then returned to his department as chair while also serving part-time as a special assistant to the provost. During 2005-2006, he oversaw the college’s academic assessment plan and the preparation of the periodic review report required by the college’s accrediting agency. Donald has devoted approximately 20 years to higher education, most of it as a faculty member teaching both undergraduate and graduate students in the biological sciences. His degrees include the AB in biology (Dartmouth College), the MS in zoology (University of New Hampshire), and the PhD in zoology (Duke University). As a full-time faculty member, he taught for several years at the Universidad Autónoma de Baja California and Rutgers University before joining Wagner College in 1994. In 1998, he was also appointed to the adjunct faculty and taught two courses in that capacity at Drexel University’s School of Environmental Science, Engineering and Policy. Donald is the first and only faculty member to have been selected for all three of Wagner College’s exceptional performance awards (scholarship in 1997, teaching in 2000, and service to the institution in 2004). His published research includes behavior of plankton and behavioral ecology of marine systems, as well as the scholarship of teaching and learning. His most recent publications include “Bringing Educational Relevancy to the First-Year College Experience by Bearing Witness to Social Problems,” published in The Journal of Experiential Education, and “Critical Thinking for Civic Thinking in Science,” published in Academic Exchange Quarterly. Donald has twice been nominated (once by the college president, once by the provost) for the Thomas Ehrlich Faculty Award for Service-Learning. In 2004, his first-year program learning community was selected as a national pedagogical model by SENCER (Science Education for New Civic Engagements and Responsibilities) for the enhancement of the teaching and learning of science. Donald once served as President of the New Jersey Academy of Science and has been an associate editor of The Bulletin of the New Jersey Academy of Science for the past 15 years. He presently serves on the Executive Board of the Metropolitan Association of College and University Biologists, and he is President of the Eastern Colleges Science Conference. He is also investigating pedagogical ways to foster the development of critical thinking and civic thinking skills necessary for responsible citizenry—the focus of an interinstitutional National Science Foundation research project.
Contact: dstearns@wagner.edu