University holds honorary luncheon as Chair of Biology steps down

Photo by: Henoc Kivuye

On Dec. 6 Oklahoma Christian University will hold a luncheon for Chair and Associate Professor of Biology Tim VanWagoner. After serving for five years, VanWagoner is stepping down as chair of biology to accept the position of Administrative Director of the Oklahoma Clinical and Translational Science Institute (OCTSI), a part of the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center (OUHSC).

VanWagoner has been involved with OUHSC for the six years he has served at Oklahoma Christian.

“I’ve actually been an assistant professor of research at OUHSC the entire time I have been at OC,” VanWagoner said. “I’ve just been asked to come back there in a full time role as the Administrative Director of OCTSI. That has simply replaced my research responsibilities while I am still teaching this year.”

Although VanWagoner is stepping down as chair of biology at Oklahoma Christian and accepting the role of administrative director at OCTSI, he will still serve on campus whenever his schedule permits.

“I still plan to teach a lecture class when needed, and I will still be a mentor and can educate students not only about basic biology, but the opportunities they have to impact the science of medicine and patient care in their future,” VanWagoner said.

VanWagoner is as well-known in the science community as he is admired and respected in the classroom.

“The class is hard because the material is hard, but he makes it a lot easier to understand,” junior biology major Emma Axtell said. “It’s always enjoyable to go to class because he makes it fun, and it’s not just [going over] the material, it’s actually understanding it.”

Axtell states that despite VanWagoner’s busy schedule and important work, he always shows his concern for his students, especially those he advises, like Axtell.

“He’s always taken a real interest in making sure I have everything planned out and that I know exactly what [classes] I need to take and making sure I have the right opportunities to get to where I want to go,” Axtell said.

According to Axtell, future students who may not get to interact with VanWagoner as much as current students do will be missing out.

“He’s a really great teacher,” Axtell said. “He just makes the class fun, which you don’t really get in upper level classes.”

However, VanWagoner believes that future students will benefit from the changes occurring.

“A benefit to students is that OC will add additional faculty with new experiences and expertise that the students can learn from,” VanWagoner said.

With his new opportunity, VanWagoner will have experience of his own to share with students. As an employee of Oklahoma Shared Clinical and Translational Resources, VanWagoner will interact with other scientists and clinics from around the country.

“This is a collaborative effort between many partners in Oklahoma, as well as a few outside of our state, to build the infrastructure needed to develop more clinical and translational scientists and research focusing on health issues that are important to our communities,” VanWagoner said.

According to VanWagoner, OCTSI research differs from a traditional definition of scientific research.

“Clinical and translational research is a more patient-oriented approach to research, sometimes called ‘bench to bedside,’ but also involving research into best clinical practices and dissemination and implementation of evidence-based approaches to improving the health of our population,” VanWagoner said.

In other words, at OCTSI, VanWagoner and his associates are finding ways to make science and technology better benefit people.

“In many ways, it is a paradigm shift in the study of disease that involves bi-directional interactions that link together researchers from the basic biomedical and public health sciences right to your health care providers,” VanWagoner said.

To those who do not have a Ph.D. in biology, this simply means that OCTSI is working to find ways to positively impact the medical field faster than ever before.

VanWagoner humbly calls the luncheon, “just a way for my colleagues to bid me a ‘sort-of’ goodbye since I won’t be completely absent from our community.”

But the faculty and staff of Oklahoma Christian see it as much more than a faux goodbye party; this luncheon is in honor of the many years of excellent service VanWagoner has invested into this university and its students.

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