University of Richmond Professor Todd Lookingbill Receives State Council of Higher Education Outstanding Faculty Award

Awards Recognize Superior Accomplishments in Teaching, Research, and Public Service
December 11, 2020

Todd Lookingbill headshotUNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND —Todd Lookingbill, University of Richmond associate professor of geography, environmental studies, and biology, has been named an Outstanding Faculty Award recipient by the State Council of Higher Education.

The Outstanding Faculty Awards are the highest honor for faculty at Virginia's public and private colleges and universities. These awards recognize superior accomplishments in teaching, research, and public service. Nominees are selected by their institutions, reviewed by a panel of peers, and chosen by a committee of leaders from the public and private sectors. Lookingbill was one of 12 recipients out of 72 nominees. 

Lookingbill is a landscape ecologist whose areas of research include environmental stewardship, climate change, watershed assessment, and battlefield ecology.

He and his students have worked broadly with the National Park Service, the City of Richmond, and others on landscape monitoring and environmental assessment studies, especially within urban and suburban settings in the Mid-Atlantic region. Lookingbill’s research has been funded by the National Park Service and National Science Foundation.

“To be recognized among such a stellar caliber of faculty is an amazing honor,” said Lookingbill. “I’ve been fortunate to work with generous partners including some incredible students, which has allowed me to interlace my research and my teaching and involve students in all aspects of my work.”

“Todd is a wonderful example of UR’s commitment to faculty mentoring of students and partnering with colleagues across disciplines,” said Patrice Rankine, dean of the School of Arts & Sciences.

This award is the latest recognition of Lookingbill’s contributions to his field and the University of Richmond. Last year, he received the 2019 Distinguished Service Award by the U.S. Regional Association of the International Association for Landscape Ecology. He was also named Researcher of the Year by the National Park Service’s National Capital Region in 2013. Lookingbill received his bachelor’s degree from Princeton and his Ph.D. from Duke.

Lookingbill is the most recent UR faculty member to receive a SCHEV Outstanding Faculty Award. Most recently, Carol Parish, Floyd D. and Elisabeth S. Gottwald Professor of Chemistry and Associate Provost for Academic Integration, was honored in 2018. 

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