Richard Benz Wickliffe, OH | 7-12, Science, 1990

Richard “Rich” Benz is retired from Wickliffe High School where for 34 years he was a biology teacher and chair of the science department. He has a B.S. in education from Kent State University and an M.S. in urban studies from Cleveland State University. He currently works with the Lake Metroparks as their science education consultant and curriculum advisor. He works with the park naturalists and the area schools to open the outdoors to the school children of Lake County and other northeast Ohio counties. Rich was elected as a Trustee of the Ohio Academy of Science and has served in this capacity for fifteen years. He is also an adjunct professor at Lake Erie College and teaches a variety of professional development classes. He is an instructor and co-director of the Biology Institute at Philips Exeter Academy, where he has taught since 1997. In 2017, Rich was selected to receive the Distinguished Alumni Award for Professional Achievement from Kent State University. In 2007, he was inducted into the Wickliffe Schools Alumni Hall of Fame and in 2012 he was inducted into the Wickliffe Community Hall of Fame. His efforts to improve the science curriculum at his school helped him secure an Apple Crossroad II 1991-92 Computer Grant which he used to establish an integrated research computer network at Wickliffe. In addition to the 1990 Presidential Award for Excellence in the science category for Ohio, he is a Disney American Teacher Award in Science. Keen to further his own education, Rich prides his ability to communicate the excitement of discovery to his students and his excitement for teaching to his colleagues. He has taught teacher workshops and professional development classes in South Africa, Australia, Belize, and in the Galapagos Islands.

• High-resolution version of the teacher profile photograph

Know a great teacher like Richard Benz? Sign up to be notified when nominations open