Chris Hill, Coastal Carolina University associate professor of biology, has received the 2011 HTC Distinguished Teacher-Scholar Lecturer Award and will present a lecture on "Birds on the Edge of Two Worlds" at 7 p.m. Monday, March 28. The lecture, which is free and open to the public, will be held in the auditorium of the E. Craig Wall Sr. College of Business Administration.

Hill is the 15th recipient of the award, which is presented annually by HTC to a CCU faculty member who has outstanding abilities as a teacher, scholar and communicator. The recipient of the honor delivers a community lecture on an original topic drawn from his or her research and area of expertise.

In this year's lecture, Hill will discuss his extensive research involving the salt marsh sparrow, a bird indigenous to the shoreline of the U.S. Southeast. His scholarly paper on the bird's unusual mating habits, considered a hot topic by bird enthusiasts, appeared in the prestigious international journal AUK and received various other media attention.

"HTC is proud to be a part of the Distinguished Teacher-Scholar Lecturer Award, and we look forward to honoring CCU faculty members for outstanding achievements every year," said Tom Vitt, HTC director of marketing. "We hope the public will attend the lecture and connect with the expertise of Chris Hill as he delivers a unique presentation based on his extensive research."

"Chris Hill’s ability to continue his scholarly activities while balancing his commitment to students speaks highly to this distinction as a teacher-scholar," said Provost Robert Sheehan, who announced the award.

Hill joined the CCU faculty in 1999. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Massachusetts, a master's degree from Eastern Kentucky University and a Ph.D. from the University of Washington. For several years, Hill has overseen CCU's Spivey Ornithology Endowment, which directs research funding to the support of undergraduate students.