Dr. Jim Phillips

Dr. James A. (Jim) Phillips is director of the Integrated Studies Program and a Professor in the Department of Public Health and Environmental studies. He teaches courses focused on interdisciplinary courses for integrated studies, and courses in the area of environmental studies for PHES. For over 27 years prior to moving to PHES in 2025, he was a professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. He still maintains a chemical research program aimed at characterizing structures that change dramatically in various environments.. He has won several awards for teaching and mentoring undergraduate research students, including: the Career Teaching Excellence Award from UWEC’s College of Arts and Sciences (2013), the Excellence in Mentoring Research, Scholarship, or Creative Activity Award from the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs at UWEC (2015), and the ChemCUR Outstanding Mentorship Award, form the CUR Chemistry Council (2020). He joined the UWEC faculty in 1998 following a two-year NOAA Postdoctoral Fellowship in Climate and Global Change at University of Colorado-Boulder. Prior to that, Phillips earned a B.A. in Chemistry from Middlebury College (Vermont) in 1991 and returned to his home city for graduate school to ultimately earn a Ph.D. in physical chemistry from the University of Minnesota in 1996. When not teaching or otherwise working with students or tinkering in his lab, he spends his time outdoors as much as possible (walking his dogs, working in the yard, fishing, hiking, paddling, etc.) or performing music.