Marc R. Hnytka, MS

Marc R. Hnytka is a faculty member in the College of Integrative Learning at the University of Arizona Global Campus (UAGC). He holds a master’s degree in Agricultural, Environmental, and Development Economics and a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Marketing from The Ohio State University. He is working towards his PhD in Environmental Science on a part-time basis. Marc began his career in higher education in 2003 as a resident advisor assisting and counseling students. Since then, he has worked in a variety of formal and informal educational settings including serving as a teaching fellow for the National Science Foundation from 2009 to 2011 and as a graduate teaching assistant for the Center for Life Science Education at OSU.

Since starting with the university in 2013, Marc's academic focus includes a broad and multidimensional application of environmental issues and how they relate to business, education, society, and governance. His favorite thing about teaching for UAGC is helping to facilitate an environment of collaborative learning where students can discover new ideas and perspectives together. He has embraced a student-centered approach with a philosophy of challenging and supporting his students in their academic pursuits.

Accomplishments

Marc was selected for a National Science Foundation teaching fellowship from 2009 to 2011 where he worked on the Sugar Creek Watershed improvement project. He was also a contributing author on the Clintonville Community Sustainability Plan, the Global Trade Analysis Project: Global Forestry Data for the Economic Modeling of Land Use, and the book, Economic Valuation of River Systems. He also was selected as faculty of the month in May 2019, two separate University Fellowship Program research grants, an ADEIL College Course Excellence Award for work on SCI 207 and its virtual labs in 2024, and the UAGC Innovative Faculty Instruction Award in 2023.

Marc also serves as co-chair of the UAGC Honors Program Advisory Board and as a faculty mentor for honors students. He leads the UAGC TED Talks Discussion Club and other monthly Honors Program events. He has collaborated on research into the lasting efficacy of online science education practices and has worked on the Live Learning initiative at UAGC since its inception.

“The most important thing each of us can know is our unique gift and how to use it in the world. Individuality is cherished and nurtured, because, in order for the whole to flourish, each of us has to be strong in who we are and carry our gifts with conviction, so they can be shared with others.”
― Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants