Dr. Mike Little earned an A.B. in Zoology from Marshall in 1967, an M.S. in Biology from Marshall in 1973, and a Ph.D. in Biology from the University of Louisville in 1983. He joined the Marshall faculty in the Department of Biology in 1973, and had a rich and varied career. He served as an Aquatic Biologist Research Associate with the Water Resource Division of the U.S. Geological Survey. Working with departmental faculty and students, he directed the development of a virtual Appalachian community, which integrates science and math instruction in a web-delivered series of activities. And he worked with a group of undergraduate and graduate students to sequence a portion of the mitochondrial genome in a rare Appalachian fish, the Cheat Minnow. His research has also involved the use of GIS and digital technology to map the relationship between stream structure and distribution of Appalachian fishes.
In 1997, Dr. Little was the recipient of the National Award for Innovative Excellence in Teaching, Learning and Technology presented at the Ninth International Conference on College Teaching and Learning at Jacksonville, Florida. He was named a Distinguished John Deaver Drinko Fellow in 2002 and became Chair of the Department of Integrated Science and Technology at Marshall in 2004. Dr. Little retired as Professor Emeritus in 2012.