Steve and Barbara Stephenson Announce Retirement

Steve Stephenson, a research professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, and his wife Barbara, an instructor in the Department of Mathematical Sciences, announce their retirement at the end of the current semester. The two came to the U of A in 2003 after spending more than 25 years at Fairmont State University in West Virginia.

During the time he has been at the U of A, Steve Stephenson taught courses in plant biology, comparative botany, plant ecology, forest ecology and dendrology. He directed the research of 20 graduate students, including international students from Costa Rica, Brazil, the Philippines, Iraq, Kenya, Israel and India. These students carried out research in subject areas ranging from forest ecology to mycology (especially studies involving fungi and myxomycetes).

During this same period, Steve, who was a Senior Fulbright Scholar at Himachal University in India (1987) and a Williams Evans Visiting Fellow at the University of Otago in New Zealand (2002) earlier in his career, hosted Fulbright Scholars from Vietnam, the Philippines (two different individuals), Ukraine and Tunisia. In addition, scientists from Myanmar, Germany, China and Russia spent time at the U of A with the support provided by other academic exchange programs.

Since the time Steve arrived at the U of A, he has received three Fulbright Specialist Awards (to India, Vietnam and the Philippines). His program of research has taken him to all seven continents and to every major type of terrestrial ecosystem on earth. In addition, he has made two expeditions to the subantarctic. On an earlier expedition, supported by the Australian Antarctic Division, he spent four months on isolated Subantarctic Macquarie Island in the Southern Ocean south of New Zealand and Australia.

Steve is best known for his studies of myxomycetes, a group of fungus-like organisms. Among his more significant publications on the group are monographs on the myxomycetes of New Zealand (published in 2003) and the myxomycetes of Australia (published in 2021). He is the author or coauthor of 18 books and almost 500 book chapters and papers in peer-reviewed journals. Two additional books are scheduled to be published in 2023. His research has been supported by grants from a number of organizations and agencies, including the National Science Foundation, the National Geographic Society, the United States Park Service, the United States Forest Service, the Organization of Tropical Studies, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the Australian Biological Resources Study Program.

Barbara served as Steve’s field assistant when he worked towards a Ph.D. degree, which involved studying the composition and distribution of upland forest communities in the central Appalachians. She has continued in this role on a number of occasions since then, and this has involved accompanying Steve to study areas all over the world. Over the years, she has coauthored five papers with her husband. At the U of A, Barbara has taught college algebra and served as the department’s coordinator of college algebra for six years. 

This story also appeared in the University of Arkansas News publication.