Scott M. Herron, Ph.D., Lauded for Achievements in Higher Education and Research
An expert in ethnobotany, Dr. Scott Herron conducts research on a crop critical to Michigan's American Indian population

BIG RAPIDS, MI, July 14, 2011 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Dr. Scott M. Herron, Associate Professor of Biology at Ferris State University, has been recognized by Cambridge Who's Who for showing dedication, leadership and excellence in higher education and research.

The son of a nurse and a middle school science teacher, Dr. Herron was inspired by his parents to devote his own career to the sciences. He celebrates his eighth year as a biology instructor at Ferris, where he teaches horticulture, biology for secondary education, ecology for elementary education, botany, and various field courses. Dr. Herron is also charged with coordinating the biology education program, interfacing with the education department, and overseeing an undergraduate research laboratory. He is deeply proud of his contributions to the latter, which has been quite productive despite little material support.

In addition to being a professor at Ferris State University, Dr. Herron teaches at the University of Michigan Biological Station as a visiting professor. He is a noted authority on ethnobotany, which is the study of how indigenous peoples use plants, and is currently engaged in research on wild rice. Wild rice, although critical to the survival of wildlife and the American Indian population in the Great Lakes region, is rapidly losing habitat. Dr. Herron earned a Ph.D. in 2002 from Southern Illinois University. Respected among his peers, he served as vice chairman of the Traditional Ecological Section of the Ecological Society of America, as a senior fellow of the Environmental Leadership Program, and as current North American editor of Ethnobotanical Leaflets. He is also a former chairman of the Michigan Academy of Science, Arts & Letters. Dr. Herron's additional affiliations include the Society of Ethnobiology and the Society for Economic Botany. From 2007 to 2009, he was a political engagement scholar of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, and in 2010, he was selected as a VIP member by Cambridge Who's Who. He is co-chair of the Native Wild Rice Coalition.

As he moves forward in his career, Dr. Herron aspires to publish journal articles and book chapters, and share his knowledge of ethnobiology and native Indian language. He also plans to continue his research on the production of sustainable wild rice for communities in Michigan.

For more information about Ferris State University, visit http://www.ferris.edu.

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