Columbia International University’s 2024 SCICU Excellence In Teaching Award recipient is Dr. Daniel Criswell, professor of Biology and chair of the Biology Department. He holds a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from the University of Montana and a bachelor’s degree in Zoology from Weber State University (Ogden, Utah).
At CIU, Dr. Criswell teaches Microbiology and Introductory Biology to undergraduate biomedical students. He has 24 years of combined teaching experience at CIU, Louisiana Christian University, and the University of Montana. At LCU and Montana he taught Immunology, Molecular Biology, and Microbiology. Dr. Criswell’s four decades in teaching began in 1983 as a high school Biology teacher and football coach.
An accomplished researcher, Dr. Criswell has authored more than 20 peer-reviewed publications, including published research on the mechanisms of antibiotic resistance in bacteria and on mitochondrial DNA mutation rates. He has published several books, including Introduction to Zoology, which is used in the biology laboratories at Columbia International University. While in Louisiana, Dr. Criswell worked with the Louisiana Department of Fisheries to get a census of non-game fish species in central Louisiana creeks and bayous.
Many of Dr. Criswell’s former students are medical doctors and physician assistants today. Dr. Criswell believes that a successful instructor produces successful students.
Converse University – 2024 SCICU Excellence In Teaching – Dr. Jeffrey G. Howard