That's the Spirit: Dr. Tim Rice Turns Yankton into a Field of Study

Dr. Tim Rice was born to collect. Bugs, books on arachnids, model dinosaurs, ant colonies, plastic snakes—sometimes real snakes—and the occasional green iguana were frequent finds in his suburban Kentucky household.

"Mom would always find a big pickle jar for me to put things in," he shared. "My father was the same way. Grandma never knew what she was going to find when she went into the basement."

Studying Living Things

When it came time for college, Tim's father suggested biology. This advice sent him on a 12-year path to a Ph.D. in ecological toxicology.

"[College] reinforced that, somehow, I wanted to make a job doing this," he said. Tim taught at different institutions across the nation before landing an open position at Mount Marty. In 2017, Dr. Rice made his way to Yankton, South Dakota's River City and playground for biologists and scientists.

Connecting Students to the World Around Them

Lancers enrolled with Dr. Rice experience in-depth, hands-on learning, exploring Yankton as their field of study. Fish sampling on the Missouri River and surrounding creeks teach students proper specimen collection and identification, while trips to Gavins Point National Fish Hatchery expose them to the world of artificial raising for conservation and restoration projects.

The hatchery specializes in producing and stocking American paddlefish and endangered pallid sturgeon into the Missouri River, and just east of the Gavins Point Dam is the Missouri National Recreational River, a wild and untamed stretch of the Muddy Mo.

"My goal is to get students to at least understand what we're talking about...and to get them to understand the connections I'm seeing in my brain."

Vegetation sweeps, leaf litter collecting, and soil sampling help students reveal the biodiversity of invertebrates down and upstream. Live traps filled with a handful of peanut butter balls and set just before sundown gather and record data on the age, gender, and recapture of mammal species in the area.

Making Plants Exciting

"At least flowers aren't going anywhere...you don't have to chase them down," Dr. Rice said about hisdecision to step in and teach when Mount Marty began offering a course in botany. He started collecting wildflowers while on walks with his dog, making them into permanent dry displays for his classroom.

With his background in toxicology and the majority of MMU's biology majors heading into the healthcare field, Dr. Rice's classroom works to connect plants to physiology. "It doesn't hurt a doctor to know the difference between a poison ivy outbreak and a peanut allergy," he explained, adding that the role of organs in the human body closely resembles the different functions of plants.

It's in these moments of connection that excitement is built.

Learning for Life

Astronauts, firefighters, veterinarians, and movie stars—only 10% of people are currently in their childhood dream job. It's safe to say a number of MMU faculty and staff are among them.

"There's more than one kind of minnow, there are more birds than just the waterfowl and bald eagle, and my students gain that appreciation," Dr. Rice says. "[Our faculty is] excited to talk about microbiology or chemistry because it means something more to us...I'm doing what I'd be doing for fun."