Dr. Rita R. Colwell, a leading expert on infectious diseases, water and health, will receive an honorary doctorate from UALR’s College of Science and Math Saturday during the University’s commencement ceremonies. The honorary degree will be bestowed at 3 p.m. Saturday, May 16, during UALR’s commencement ceremonies for CSAM, the Donaghey College of Engineering and Information Technology (EIT), and the College of Business. Graduates of the Colleges of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences; Education, and Professional Studies will receive their degrees at a 9:30 a.m. ceremony. Both events will be at the Jack Stephen Center.

Colwell is well known in scientific circles for her work in microbiology and ecology. She was the first woman serve as the director of the NSF, from 1998 to 2004. She is a prolific author, with 17 books and 700 scientific articles to her credit. Colwell also produced the award-winning 1982 film Invisible Seas.

Colwell’s scientific focus has been on the interaction the natural environment with humans and especially the impact of microbes on global environmental health. She has also explored the ways the patterns microbe-caused diseases are expected to change as the impact of global climate change becomes more evident.  She has also lectured and written on science and mathematics education, and the increased participation of women and minorities in science and engineering.

During her career as a researcher and administrator, Colwell has received nearly 50 honorary degrees and a long list of top honors from her scientific colleagues, including the National Medal of Science in 2007. In addition to heading NSF, she also served as president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the American Society for Microbiology and, currently, the American Institute of Biological Sciences.

After leaving NSF, Colwell joined Canon U.S. Life Sciences as chief scientist and was later voted honorary chairman of the company. She also has appointments as a distinguished professor at the University of Maryland at College Park and at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health.