Edward C. Keller Jr.

Edward C. Keller Jr. was inducted into the College of Applied Human Sciences Hall of Fame in the fall of 2025. He was previously inducted into the College of Education and Human Services Hall of Fame in 2010.

Keller earned three degrees from Pennsylvania State University: a bachelor’s degree in agronomy, botany, and economics (1952), a master’s degree in genetics/breeding and zoology, and a doctorate in statistical genetics and statistics (1961). He completed NIH fellowships at Penn State and the University of North Carolina. From 1964 to 1968, he served as an assistant professor of zoology at the University of Maryland and advised undergraduate education at George Washington University; he also managed data systems and operations for NUS Corporation in Los Angeles on space program projects.

Keller joined West Virginia University in 1968 as chair of the Department of Biology and subsequently taught and conducted research for approximately four decades. He published more than 110 articles, abstracts, and reports; secured over 50 governmental grants; served on numerous graduate committees; and was a past president of the West Virginia Academy of Science. His research addressed environmental and public health issues including taconite pollution in Lake Superior, ocean dumping near Philadelphia, EPA air and water monitoring criteria, bio-regeneration systems related to Apollo-era projects, oil-pollution studies, wastewater guidelines, environmental impact statements for energy facilities, acid mine drainage and remediation, and spatial analyses of cancer and cardiovascular mortality in West Virginia.

His work centered on expanding access to science for students with disabilities. He led NSF-funded marine-science programs at Wallops Island, coordinated equity and access efforts for the West Virginia Department of Education, served as an NSF expert, co-authored the 1990 NSF report on disability in science education, contributed to National Academy standards groups, held leadership roles with SESD and the Foundation for Science and Disability, and served as second chair on West Virginia’s delegation to the White House Conference on Persons with Disabilities.

Keller’s recognitions include an honorary D.Sc. from Salem College (1978); the WVU Social Justice Award (1991); the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering (1997); the National Science Teachers Association Distinguished Service Award (1998); the Science Education for Students with Disabilities Lifetime Achievement Award (2007); election as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science; the Eberly College Outstanding Public Service Award (2004); and induction into the National Hall of Fame for Persons with Disabilities.