Dr. Richard Durtsche received NKU's highest honor in 2025, the Frank Sinton Milburn Outstanding Professor Award. His many contributions to NKU include the development and leadership of the Research and Education Field Station.
As one of the department's longest-serving faculty members, Dr. Richard Durtsche has made numerous invaluable contributions to the Departmentn of Biological Sciences through teaching, research and service. He has taught 25 different courses from Anatomy & Physiology to field courses in Costa Rica, Sweden, and across the United States. His course evaluations provide clear evidence of his commitment and caring. Examples of student comments include:
"Dr. Durtsche is good at his job and cares about the science, but he also is a kind person who cares about the wellbeing of his students. He really makes an effort to make everyone feel welcome."
"This was an intense class that required a lot of commitment outside of class. However, I now have a full page of lab techniques I can bring into a job interview."
"His passion made me more excited about the course. I loved learning about all of the topics, I really liked going on all the field trips."
As a herpetologist and physiological ecologist, Dr. Durtsche conducts a great deal of research in streams, ponds and other waterways. His collaboration with Karlstadt University in Swedent includes trying to understand the effect of climate change on salmon populations.
“Richard has been an outstanding collaborator. He has contributed to our research environment with experiments and publications. He has been an active and inspiring teacher in several of our courses and has led an exchange with students from NKU visiting us,” wrote Dr. John Piccolo from Karlstad University in Sweden.
Some of Dr. Durtsche's most popular courses are those that take students into the field. From the Biology of Fly Fishing to Tropical Ecology, students learn how to collect and analyze complex data sets. He was previously honored for his work to expand Study Abroad opportunities in 2016. The challenges he offered his students have led many to successful careers they never could have imagined.
"I like to describe him as a second dad, and I think that stems from knowing he was in my corner no matter what, rooting for me to succeed. And even if I failed, he'd pick me back up and push me forward," said Stephanie Hayes Schlea who is now Seniopr Water Policy Adviser for the Association of State Drinking Water Administrators.
Dr. Melissa Miller of the University of Florida wrote that "Through my work with Dr. Durtsche I was able to build a strong foundation as a scientist regarding quality, integrity, creative and independent thought, and remaining resilient to challenges."
Excellence in Teaching and Instruction Award: Dr. Patrick Schultheis was recognized for his innovative work in developing and updating courses in genetics and molecular biology although he has taught 22 different courses since joining the NKU faculty.
"Patrick has developed lab experiments from scratch aimed at highlighting the latest scientific achievements and also getting the students invested in learning the techniques. Part of the genius of these exercises is having the students profile parts of their own genome which gets them intrigued and engaged," said department chair Dr. Lindsey Walters.
His students agree. "He is a literal angel and I love him immensely. He is my favorite instructor I have ever had at NKU. He is very geared towards student success."
"This course has helped me feel like a true scientist. My understanding of cell biology is triple what it used to be."
"Dr. Schultheis was extremely determined that we had a positive and valuable lab experience. When experiments did not work, he did not ever give up. Dr. Schultheis worked hard on finding better methods for our experiments outside of class, and we were even able to redo an experiment that did not initially work. It worked very well the next time! "
Excellence in Research/Scholarship/Creative Activity Award: Dr. Kristy Hopfensperger, the Director of the NKU Environmental Science Program, was honored for her extensive research spanning multiple disciplines including ecology, climate science and urban sustainability. She has received millions of dollars from 28 external grants and 16 internal grants to support undergraduate and community-engaged research projects.
"Dr. Hopfensperger's broad expertise in ecology, climate science, and conservation positions her as a leader in advancing research collaboration and STEM education. She has played a critical role in facilitating collaborative ecological research and education through her leadership in the Ecological Research as Education Network (EREN) and the Macrosystems Ecology For All (MEFA) Research Coordination Network," wrote colleague Dr. Yingying Xie.
One of her recent research efforts is leading the Climate Research Incubator (CRI) with Green Umbrella, a regional sustainability alliance to foster collaboration between scientists, policymakers, and community organizations in Cincinnati area.
"Kristy has displayed tremendous leadership, organization, and galvanization. Without her creativity, attention to detail, and enthusiasm, the CRI would not have been nearly as successful as it is today. She is a prime example of what a researcher in a community should look like -- she is collaborative, thoughtful, thorough, and importantly, genuinely caring about the communities she's working with," remarked Van Sullivan of Green Umbrella.
Department of Biological Sciences
Dorothy Westerman Herrmann Science Center (SC), Room 204C
(859) 572-5110 | biology@nku.edu
