By Ally Horine | Echo
After 33 years, professor of earth and environmental science Paul Rothrock has decided to retire. His long-time service and commitment to the university has heavily influenced the environmental science program and established the credibility it has today. His passion for his subject and commitment to teaching have created a legacy that very few will forget.
Rothrock joined the Taylor faculty in 1981 when the environmental science program was first launched. At that time it was a small program that was seen as an add-on to any major. He immediately collaborated with his colleagues to develop a multi-disciplinary undergraduate program in environmental science. This program was the first of its kind among Christian colleges.
"Paul Rothrock's greatest legacy will be his foundational contribution to the building of the environmental science program at Taylor," said Michael Guebert, environmental science department chair. "Rothrock is an exemplary scholar and has engaged many students in his research."
Along with developing the environmental science program, he and former faculty member Richard Squires spearheaded several projects. These included the establishment of the Upland Prairie, designs for the Randall Environmental Science Center, a summer field course and a masters degree program for 100 students.
The Master of Environmental Science (MES) program, which began in 2002, was the first of its kind at any Christian university. According to the Taylor website, this one-year graduate program prepares students to "solve real-world environmental problems with theoretical knowledge, technical expertise and social concern." The program will end after this year due to lack of demand and funding.
"The Lord provided a unique opportunity for me at Taylor," Rothrock said. "As I grew and sought new outlets, my role at Taylor grew and changed. Though most of my teaching career has been here, I feel have reached beyond the Taylor borders because of our talented alumni that are making a difference in the world. I am justifiably proud of the ways they have used their innate gifts and the training we as a university have been able to provide."
Rothrock's achievements are not minimal. Since 1989, he has received externally funded grants totaling more than $250,000 for research in old-field community dynamics, wetland restoration, prairie reconstruction and expert studies of the genus Carex, which consists of over 2,000 species of grassy plants. In 2009, he published his illustrated book "Sedges of Indiana and the Adjacent States." From 2000 to 2013, Rothrock was vice president of the Indiana Biological Survey in the Aquatic Research Center.
His passion for the environment and learning is evident not only in his on- and off-campus involvement, but also in his teaching.
"I have only taken one class with Dr. Rothrock, but that one class really shaped my time in the environmental science program," senior environmental science major Erica Gleason said. "His passion for plants and all things environmental is truly contagious, and his energy inspires students to really care about what they are learning."
Rothrock's passion for learning is evident everywhere he goes.
"One of my favorite memories of Dr. Rothrock was watching him frolic through plants as he identified them," said Gleason. "I am convinced there is no one else on the planet as passionate about sedges as he is."
Though he has had an extremely successful career at Taylor, Rothrock has one disappointment: the failure to eliminate the idea that there is warfare between science and theology.
"To paraphrase my former colleague Ray Grizzle, we should avoid simplistic either/or answers, but seek both/and dialogue," Rothrock said.
In his time at Taylor, Rothrock influenced nearly 300 environmental science graduates. As he prepares to leave, he has one last message for Taylor students.
"My daughter as a 6-year-old said she had figured out what every sermon said: 'know and love God,'" Rothrock said. "Seems like good advice to me."
(Thumbnail photograph courtesy of Luke Lines)
