On the whiteboard in Professor Ransom Poythress’s office, there is a quote that says “Be unwavering in the things that matter.” On the wall above his desk, there are superheroes which cling to it, and a Captain America figure on a motorcycle. Christmas lights hung over his bulletin board unlit. Barnyard animals cover the remaining wall space. Poythress explained that when he first arrived at Houghton, his office was so empty that some of the students decorated it for him. This explains the variety of decorations.
Poythress is a new professor to Houghton and this fall marks the beginning of his second year. With classes such as Biology Senior Seminar, Molecular/Cell Biology, Comparative Animal Physiology, and General Biology, he has the opportunity to teach a wide range of classes that he is passionate about. Though the semester is really busy for him, he is enjoying it nonetheless.
During his classes, he likes to take a break to do something called “soapboxes.” Soapboxes generally refer to a speaker who has a point they are trying to get across. Poythress calls them “mid-class devotions.” While biting into his sesame seed PB&J bagel, he explains that Christian world view and sciences have influence on everything and Christ is preeminent in everything. He says that there is usually a disconnection between school and spiritual life and he does these devotionals to connect the two. For example, when discussing water molecules in science, he will talk about how water plays a role in the Bible.
Mainly with the upper level classes, he likes to present his students with a “skeleton” for a project and they need to make something that fits it, such as an experiment or technique that excites them. He says it gives the students ownership of the project, and it is interesting to see what they come up with. In the upcoming spring, Poythress would like to start a project to find out whether or not it is possible to convert by mutation one protein into another functional protein.
Poythress didn’t always want to be a teacher though. He grew up in Northeast Philadelphia, and during his time in high school he thought about doing research or zoology. However, he really thought bioinformatics, or the science of collecting and analyzing complex biological data, would be what he wanted to do because it “sounded cool.”
After graduating high school, he went to California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California where he received his Bachelor of Science degree. From there, he went on to Boston University where he received his PhD in Molecular and Cell Biology and Biochemistry. One of the requirements in his first year at Boston University was to teach two semesters in an intro level biology class. Poythress enjoyed it so much he decided to pursue it further. A short time later, he went to Westminster Theological Seminary of Philadelphia where he received his Master’s degree in counseling. “I always say, if you don’t know what to do with your life, just keep going to school until you figure it out,” Poythress said of his extensive education.
After graduating college and during his schooling at Westminster Theological Seminary, he worked simultaneously at UPS and CVS loading and unloading boxes from trucks, mainly overnight. It definitely wasn’t his “dream job,” but he said “you gotta do what you gotta do to survive.”
Poythress enjoys getting to know his students and loves the opportunities to interact with them on a more personal level outside of class. This may include just praying for them, inviting them to dinner, dessert, or a movie at he and his wife Lisbeth’s house. Poythress said that it means a lot to him that he and his students can get acquainted on a different level in the terms of friendship because it helps in the way of learning and improves involvement in the classroom.
The Poythress’s recently got married towards the end of June. As he looked at his watch to check the date, he proudly says, “Four months and one week” to be exact. In the future he said he would like to add to their family, but maybe start out with a pet first.