Dr. Tom Huber

Education

• B.S., Biology, Westminster College, New Wilmington, PA
• M.S., Agronomy, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
• Ph.D., Agronomy, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
• Postdoctoral Research Associate, Charles F. Kettering Research Laboratory, Yellow Springs, OH

Courses Taught

• Introduction to Biology II (BIO212)
• Biochemistry I (BIO 465)
• Plant Biology (BIO 302)
• Interdisciplinary Teaching
• Great Books I: Among Gods and Heroes (GBK 101)
• Great Books II: Classical Cultures (GBK 202)
• Great Books III: The Hebrew and Christian Tradition (GBK 203)
• Great Books IV: Order and Ingenuity (GBK 304)
• Great Books VII: The Age of Ambivalence (GBK 407)
• Great Books Special Topics: James Joyce’s Ulysses (GBK 495)
• Great Books Special Topics: Genesis (GBK 495)

Specialty

Biochemistry, Plant Physiology, and Enzymology; Great Books

Research Interest

I was professionally trained as a plant physiologist and biochemist. My Ph.D. dissertation was a study of asparagine biosynthesis in soybean (Glycine max) root nodules and included the purification and characterization of the enzyme asparagine synthetase. My postdoctoral work concerned the characterization of extracellular polysaccharides in various Rhizobium and Bradyrhizobium species. As an increasingly senior member of the College of Liberal Arts, my efforts have become more administrative and interdisciplinary in focus. After nine years of chairing the Biology Department, I directed the Great Books Program for five years. The Great Books Program is a unique offering that allows students from all majors to fulfill a significant portion of the College’s General Education requirement by reading and discussing original and seminal texts in the Western Tradition. This has become a passion of mine and I have spent a great deal of time developing ways to incorporate original texts into various portions of the College’s curriculum.

Contact Dr. Tom Huber

(478) 301-2714
huber_ta@mercer.edu