Hall of Fame Member Biographies

John F. Barthell

Dr. John F. Barthell served as provost and vice president for academic affairs at the University of Central Oklahoma (UCO) until his selection as a National Science Foundation (NSF) “rotator” program director, the first such appointment from an Oklahoma regional institution. He served previously as dean of the UCO College of Mathematics and Science. Barthell’s nearly three-decade career at UCO has been dedicated to advancing student-centered research, including creating a learning model that supports the teacher-scholar role for faculty. The John F. Barthell Pollinator Garden, located alongside the STEM Research and Learning Center he conceptualized, honors his legacy of leadership and serves as a continuing investment in the well-being of the UCO community.

An accomplished teacher, scholar, and administrator, Barthell has received numerous grants and awards recognizing these accomplishments, including UCO’s Herbert S. Dordick Outstanding Mentor Award and being named a 2022 Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) Fellow. Barthell currently leads a grant for research experiences for undergraduate students, now centered in Greece, that produced more than 70 publications and 140 presentations while he was the principal investigator. Sixty-seven percent of the student participants, who are underrepresented in STEM disciplines, were accepted into post- graduate programs.

The author of more than 80 articles pertaining to ecology, natural history and topics relating to high-impact educational practices, Barthell supports initiatives that emphasize undergraduate research, including through service to CUR as a nationally elected councilor. He has served on the boards of CUR and the Greater Oklahoma City Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. A new bee species, Eufriesea barthelli, was named in 2017 to honor his contributions to the field of bee pollination ecology and his engagement of undergraduate students in this research topic.