H. Gene Drecktrah

Dr. H. Gene Drecktrah joined the UWO biology department in 1966 with the primary teaching responsibility of introductory biology and entomology. As a retired emeritus professor of biology, he still frequently works in his office/lab curating the University’s insect collection of more than 200,000 specimens, the majority of which he and his students collected. In addition to teaching, Gene served as associate dean in the College of Letters and Science from 1985 until 1994 and as co-chair of the biology/microbiology department from 1997 until his retirement in 2002. In 2005, Gene was elected to the Board of Directors of the UWO Foundation. Gene established the Mary Drecktrah Special Education Scholarship in memory of his late wife, Mary Drecktrah, who passed away in 2002.

Mary received degrees from UW-LaCrosse (BS, 1960), Iowa State University (MS, 1965), UW Oshkosh (MS, 1975) and UW-Madison (Ph.D., 1988). She retired from UW Oshkosh in January 2002 as a special education professor, where she began teaching in 1994. In a career spanning more than 34 years, Mary was an elementary teacher, reading specialist, elementary special education teacher, curriculum coordinator, assistant principal, principal, and special education professor. She received the Distinguished Teaching Award from UW Oshkosh in 2001.

College of Education and Human Services Dean Carmen Coballes-Vega said Mary was a “caring intellectual because of her knowledge and her genuine concern for all students with whom she interacted during her time at UW Oshkosh. She represented an exceptional model of team building and vision setting for others in the college. While she will be missed, we will cherish her legacy for a long time.”