William Hardy Eshbaugh
In SIUC Botany from 1965 to 1967
Dr. W. Hardy Eshbaugh obtained a
B. A. from Cornell University, an M.A. from Indiana University, and a
Ph.D. in 1964 from Indiana University, both of these degrees working
under Dr. Charles Heiser. Dr. Eshbaugh came to SIUC December 7,
1965 and left June 1967. His academic career blossomed at his new
location, Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. The following
biosketch gives some of the highlights of his career there.
Dr. W. Hardy Eshbaugh (b. 1936) is Professor Emeritus of Botany, Miami
University, Oxford, Ohio and Research Associate, Missouri Botanical
Garden, St. Louis. In 1991 he received the Benjamin Harrison
Award (Medallion) from Miami University, the institutions highest award
for faculty "in recognition of contributions to the advancement of
education to the nation." In 1992 he was awarded the Botanical
Society of America's Certificate of Merit as an "Inspiring and caring
teacher, dedicated researcher, able administrator and champion of the
science of botany." He was awarded an Outstanding Teacher Award
at the Greater Cincinnati Consortium of Colleges and Universities
Celebration of Teaching in 1992. In, 1996-97, he was selected for
the Distinguished Educator Award of the College of Arts and Science at
Miami University. In 2006 the Botanical Society awarded him the
Centennial Award and the Charles Edwin Bessey Award for his
“continuing efforts to bring additional understanding of the
natural world to public at large.” In February
2005 he was awarded The Great Egret Award by the National Audubon
Society in recognition of his lifetime of service to the cause of
conservation at the national, state, and local level. In 2006 The
St. Mary’s River Association, Nova Scotia selected him as their
conservationist of the year. Eshbaugh received the Ohio Biological
Survey 2006 Osborn Award “to recognize noteworthy accomplishments
and service in the field of biology.” He was selected as Oxford,
Ohio’s Citizen of the Year for 2002.
Dr. Eshbaugh is the President of the Elizabeth Wakeman Henderson
Charitable Foundation. Dr. Eshbaugh served on the Board of
Directors of the National Audubon Society (1994-2006) serving as
Vice-Chairman and is the past Chair of the Development Committee.
He is on the Board of the bi-national Atlantic Salmon Federation
(2002-2008) and Hawk Mountain (2007- ). He is President of
the Avian Research and Education Institute (2005 - ), He is
Past-President of the American Institute of Biological Sciences (1996),
the American Society of Plant Taxonomists (1991-92), the Botanical
Society of America (1988-89), and the Society for Economic Botany
(1983-84). He is a Fellow of the American Association for
the Advancement of Science (1990) and the Ohio Academy of
Science (1977). He has been Associate Program Director for
Systematic Biology at the National Science Foundation (1982/83) and
Vice-Chairman of the Ohio Chapter of The Nature Conservancy
(1970/75). He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the
American Botanical Council. He served as one of the Co-chairs of
the Systematics Agenda 2000 - Charting the Biosphere
initiative. His published works include two books, over 100
research and general papers and more than 20 book reviews. Dr.
Eshbaugh's research career has focused on investigation on the origin
and evolution of Capsicum (chili peppers) and the flora and
biogeography of the Bahamas. More recently, Dr. Eshbaugh has
devoted his energies to various conservation issues and in particular
on ecotourism as a tool for effective conservation especially in the
developing world.
Dr. Eshbaugh has extensive international experience having taught and
led field natural history courses and trips in the Bahamas, Nova Scotia
and Newfoundland, Amazonian Peru, Costa Rica, and Uganda. He has
traveled and consulted on trips to Greenland and the high Canadian
Arctic, and the Antarctic. His research on the origin and
evolution of chili peppers has taken him throughout Latin America, the
Amazon, and Andean South America many times. He has been to East
Africa and South Africa conducting research and as a participant in
several international meetings on the botany of sub-Sahara
Africa. Dr. Eshbaugh is a fellow of the Explorer’s Club
(1980).
Dr. Eshbaugh's curriculum vitae (2005, pdf file) can be obtained by clicking HERE.
Photo June 7, 1967
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