Hamburg native and son of Hamburg war hero, Rich Etchberger, has been named Utah’s 2015 Carnegie Professor of the Year.
“It feels great for me personally because it recognizes the hard work that my students have done over the past 20 years,” said Etchberger. “I have been fortunate to have students who are creative, ambitious, and energetic. That has made my job pretty easy as we have worked together to make our community a better place.”
Etchberger was recognized as the top undergraduate professor for Utah for 2015.
“According to the Carnegie Foundation, this means that I was chosen because of my extraordinary dedication to undergraduate teaching, determined by excellence in the following four areas: impact on and involvement with undergraduate students; scholarly approach to teaching and learning; contributions to undergraduate education in the institution, community and profession; and support from colleagues and current and former undergraduate students,” he said.
A wildlife science professor at Utah State University’s Uintah Basin campus since 1995, he was presented the award by the state of Utah by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education during a ceremony Nov. 19 in Washington D.C.
In his letter of nomination, Michael Kuhns, Department Head of the Department of Wildland Resources, wrote, “Rich takes being an excellent teacher beyond the classroom. He knows that if he just stopped there his efforts would have little meaning. He goes on to assure that the wildlife students in the Basin get experience through internships, and he eventually helps many of them get career jobs with agencies and businesses through his contacts. One person said that the internships he sets up are ‘transformative educational experiences.'”
Kuhns noted in his letter that because of Rich and these internships, alumni work in every land management agency office in the area, and 10 of 16 biologists in the local Bureau of Land Management office are from Utah State’s program.
“Funded by several million dollars in grants that Rich has obtained, these internships have gotten students involved in important research on biology and management of black-footed ferrets and other species of conservation concern,” writes Kuhns. “Without Rich the students at UBBC would not have even been exposed to research. Now they are award winners, both locally and for USU overall.”
As a professor, Etchberger said he teaches, conducts research, and performs service for the community.
“Of those, teaching is my favorite because I get to hang out with young folks. I think that they keep me feeling young and sharp, although that is getting a little tougher as I get older,” he said.
His goals in the classroom and outside the classroom are the same.
“I want to possess the leadership skills to be a positive roll model for my student while promoting a legacy of learning at Utah State University and in my community,” he said. “I strive to facilitate my student’s success both in the classroom and in their lives by providing the opportunities for them to gain life-long learning and decision-making skills.”
Etchberger was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, where his mother was from. His father moved the family to Hamburg, Pa in 1967 when Rich was in 4th grade.
“Even though I was not born there, Hamburg will always be my home town because that is where I grew up and it is where my Dad’s family was from. I graduated from Hamburg High in 1976 – Go Hawks!!” he said. “After high school, I kind of drifted along doing odd jobs, but I did not have a career. I think it was the inspiration of my brother Cory that lit a fire under me to go to college. I went to Unity College in Maine for a bachelor’s in ecology and then I attended The University of Arizona where I earned an master’s and PhD in wildlife ecology. I taught there for two years before coming to Utah State University.”
Many things led him into wildlife.
“When I was very young, I loved to be outdoors and in nature. During my younger years in Hamburg, I was inspired by Carl Hess, my 5th grade art teacher. He is a terrific naturalist and he took me under his wing and taught many things about the natural world and life in general,” said Etchberger. “I also was influenced by my younger brother Cory when I saw how much he loved teaching as a university professor. Between Carl and Cory, I saw that I wanted to be a university professor in the wildlife sciences.”
Hess said he and Rich shared an interest in HO scale slot car racing. Later, when Carl was a track photographer at Big Diamond Raceway, Rich helped Carl with both the photography at the track and in the darkroom work after, as well as outdoor nature photography at numerous locations including Hawk Mountain.
“Rich was always very self-motivated and I know working together was good for the both of us. It’s not that we tried to outdo each other but it caused us to see many of the SAME things in DIFFERENT ways,” said Hess. “I’m very proud of Rich receiving the honors and I know he’s quite deserving. I estimate that I’ve had over 5,500 students during my 38 years of teaching in the Hamburg Area School District and Rich is one of a very few that I have been able to keep in contact with over the years.”
Living in Hamburg taught Etchberger how important it is to be an active part of the community. He now lives in Vernal, Utah, a small town similar to Hamburg in many ways.
“It is rural but with a tight-knit population. Here at USU, I promote higher education for my community by making it accessible to all who are interested. I also serve as a trustee on the Uintah Schools Foundation, a group that provides financial support for our local school teachers.”
Etchberger also talked about his father being a war hero.
According to en.wikipedia.org, “Richard Loy Etchberger was a senior non-commissioned officer in the United States Air Force who posthumously received the United States military’s highest decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions during the Battle of Lima Site 85 in the Vietnam War. The medal was formally presented to his three sons by President Barack Obama during a ceremony at the White House on Sept. 21, 2010.”
“I am very proud to say that I am from Hamburg. The ways that the folks from Hamburg have preserved my Dad’s memory are overwhelming. I will always feel a great debt of gratitude to everyone from Hamburg for being so kind and thoughtful about my Dad’s sacrifice.”
His father influenced his life, mostly before anyone knew him as a war hero.
“Growing up in my family, both with my Dad and Mom and later with my grandparents, Donald and Kathryn Etchberger, I was always taught that there were more important things in life than just looking out for yourself; others and their needs were important also.”
Wherever his family lived when his father was in the Air Force, his father would always go to the base hospital on the holidays and bring a wounded soldier home to have dinner with the family.
“It wasn’t something unusual for us, we just did it because we thought it would make that soldier feel a little better during the holidays. I am still friends today with some of those soldiers, even 50 years later,” he said. “That has been a very powerful motivator for me in my work at USU. Many of my students have families and jobs and it is very challenging for them to go to college. I do my best to work with them to make everything fit together so that they can be successful in school while still meeting their other obligations.”
When they graduate, most of his students go to work in northeastern Utah working to manage the wildlife in the mountains and forests.
“Now, that I have been teaching here for 21 years, I am starting to see the kids of my early graduates coming to school at USU. It makes me feel pretty good that I have been a small part of that legacy of learning here in my community,” said Etchberger.
