Opening Convocation 2026

Wittenberg's annual Opening Convocation, the traditional beginning of the new academic year and the first event of the 2026-27 Wittenberg Series, will take place at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 25, in historic Weaver Chapel with Richard Phillips, associate professor of biology, director of the University's environmental science program, and 2026 recipient of the Alumni Association Award for Distinguished Teaching, providing the keynote address titled "Counting Crows."

Phillips, who teaches classes in environmental science and ecology, serves as the director of the first-year research (FYRA) program, and currently has summer research students investigating red-eared slider populations in Clark County. He is a wildlife ecologist with a particular interest in the dispersal of organisms across landscapes. He holds a B.A. in biology from Emory University and a M.S. and Ph.D. from Texas Tech University in Wildlife Science.

Phillips has also conducted research on wild turkeys, Mexican wolves, and montane rattlesnakes, just to name a few. Since his arrival at Wittenberg, he and his students have studied birds, mammals, reptiles, and amphibians.

Phillips' lab is currently working with various stakeholders to determine the presence of Kirtland's snakes and Spotted turtles at various locations in Clark County. Both species are difficult to detect, and, as such, their population status is of concern at the local, state, and federal levels. Although the short-term goal of his lab is to provide population estimates for local inhabitants, longer-term goals are to provide managers with conditions and protocols that maximize the likelihood that these species are detected if they are in fact present at a location. In addition to these primary projects, students are investigating small mammal population dynamics, monitoring nest boxes, and studying movement patterns of box turtles in urban parks.

Before joining Wittenberg in 2009, Phillips studied wild turkey dispersal patterns in the Texas Panhandle while a graduate student at Texas Tech University, where he also started teaching in 2004 under the tutelage of two professors, Dr. Mark Wallace and Dr. Warren Ballard. Phillips soon found out that Springfield, Ohio, is a little different than Lubbock, Texas.

Phillips, who enjoys traveling, birding, photography, and biking, currently spends a good deal of his time with his husband, Josh, tending to a small plot of land in Champaign County. The couple has three teenage children, two dogs, and two "narcissistic" cats.

During Tuesday's convocation, the Matevia University Pastor Rev. Dr. Nathan Esala will deliver the invocation and benediction, while Interim Provost Mary Jo Zembar, professor of psychology, will welcome and introduce Phillips. Zembar will also announce faculty promotions and recognize faculty being honored with awards. Joi Garrett Scales, vice president and dean of student engagement, will introduce this academic year's student leaders. David Weimer, chapel organist, will provide the music for the program. The event be recorded for later distribution.

Now celebrating its 42nd season, the Wittenberg Series offers a selection of cultural activities available to students, faculty, staff, alumni, and the community. Click here for more information about the 2026-2027 Wittenberg Series schedule.