Kenneth Randolph Hille (1927-2009).

Burk, William R. ; Niederhofer, Relda E.

Kenneth Randolph Hille, age 81, Associate Professor Emeritus of Biology at Bowling Green State University Firelands, died 23 February 2009 at Community Health Partners, Lorain, OH. In the U.S. Navy he was a flight engineer (1944-1948). A noted teacher at BGSU Firelands, Hille received the Outstanding Professor Award and chaired the Department of Natural and Social Sciences (1979-1991). Joining The Ohio Academy of Science in 1963, he affiliated with the section on ecology. Although his membership lapsed (1968-1978), he rejoined the organization in 1979 and was accorded emeritus status (1994).

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Born 16 September 1927 in Brooklyn, NY, Hille was the son of Thomas and Marion (Olsen) Hille. After receiving his high school diploma and serving in the military, he studied at Wagner Memorial Lutheran College where he earned a B.S. in biology and chemistry (1952). Under the direction of professor Charles H. Otis, Hille pursued graduate studies at B G SU in Bowling Green, OH and received his M.A. in biology (August 1955). His thesis was titled "A Limnological Investigation of the Miller's Blue Hole, Sandusky County, Ohio." Fourteen years later he earned a Ph.D. in aquatic ecology (1969) from The Ohio State University. Under the supervision of noted aquatic entomologist N. Wilson Britt, Hille wrote his dissertation on "The Effects of Different Concentrations of LAS on the Toxicity of Dieldrin to the Bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus)."

His early professional positions were: analytic chemist, U.S. Army Bureau of Ordnance, Raritan Arsenal, Metuchen, NJ (1948-1950); graduate teaching assistant, Department of Biology, BGSU at Bowling Green (1951-1954); high school biology instructor, Fremont (OH) City schools (1954-1965); supervisor of student training, BGSU at Bowling Green (1955-1965); part-time instructor in biology, Fremont and Sandusky branches, BGSU (1959-1965); research fellow, U.S. Public Health Service, Water Resources Center, The Ohio State University (1965-1967); and chief research associate, Scioto River Ecological Study, U.S. Corps of Engineers, Institute of Natural Resources, OSU (1967-1968). He joined the faculty in the Department of Natural and Social Sciences, BGSU Firelands, serving as associate professor in biology (1968-1976) and associate professor (1976-1993). Hille also chaired the department (1979-1991). He retired in May 1993 and was accorded emeritus status. Although officially retired, he continued to teach biology until 1999. During his long tenure at BGSU Firelands, he taught a variety of courses: General Biology, Botany, Zoology, Concepts in Biology, Physiology, Ecology, Man and the Environment, Human Biology, Field Biology, Advanced Human Physiology, Local Flora and Fauna, and Careers in Biology. He developed and introduced these last two courses into the curriculum.

Hille also recognized that there was only a three-month difference between a graduating high school senior and a college freshman, and if he was going to expect his students to consistently do college-level work he was going to have to help them make that transition. To do that, he stressed that sudents needed to fully learn the vocabulary of biology. He also developed his lectures from multiple sources, making the assigned textbook almost a supplemental resource. He then clearly laid out his expectations that his students devote two hours of study for every hour of classroom instruction. He also refused to accept part-time jobs and other obligations as excuses for poor performance. As a result, his students learned how to budget their time between work and rigorous studies, and, in the end, become college students.

Relda Niederhofer, the co-author of this biography, first met Hille when both were working on their masters degrees at BGSU. When the Firelands branch of BGSU first opened in the late 1960s, they became colleagues there. Hille taught biology and Niedethofer taught botany. Their subject interests meshed perfectly, and a twenty-year academic association ensued in which Hille displayed tact and congeniality as a colleague, faculty member, and teacher.

Hille's research focused on the toxicity of chlorinated hydrocarbons, as dieldrin, to fish; toxicity of surfactants, as detergents, to fish; stream macro-invertebrate community structure; and water quality criteria of streams. Among his publications, he co-authored a technical report on "Aquatic Ecology Studies of a Potential Power Plant Site on Sandusky Bay" (Ohio State University, Center for Lake Erie Area Research, Columbus, OH. 1973) with Charles E. Herdendorf. He held memberships in the American Society of Limnology and Oceanography and the American Fisheries Society. He was a member of Sigma Xi honor society.

Hille participated in numerous programs which broadened his expertise in scientific fields. At the Argonne National Laboratory in Chicago, he attended workshops on Nuclear Power and the Environment as well as Nuclear Techniques in Chemical Analysis of Water. He took a course on Cosmology, Protobiology, and Biology at the University of Dayton. Hille served as a consultant for several organizations: the Environment Control Corporation, the Center for Lake Erie Area Research Coordinating Committee, the Erie County Health Association, the Publication Review Committee of the Ohio Biological Survey, and the Technical Advisory Service for Attorneys in Cleveland, OH.

Beyond academia Hille was active in community events and enjoyed several hobbies. He was a charter member of the Fremont Community Theatre and was commodore for the Sandusky Sailing Club. He enjwed dancing, teachinglive dance at Friday Nite Rodeo and being an active member of the Cleveland Federation of Square Dancing. He also skated artistic roller skating at Skateworld in Lorain, OH. He was involved with the Sandusky Harlequins at Sandusky Theater.

Hille is survived by his wife Sharon (Cornelius) Hille whom he married in 1956; sons, Greggory (Becky) Hille of Elyria, OH and Tracy (Laurie) Hille of Sandusky, OH; stepson, Jeff (Lori) Yepko of Michigan; and two grandsons and five granddaughters. Visiting hours were held at Foster Funeral Home, Huron, OH, on 26 February 2009. A private graveside committal service was held in Scott Cemetery, Huron.