Professor Emeritus John Eicher to be inducted to Ohio Hall of Fame

John Eicher (photo by Scott Kissell)

After spending 37 years teaching at Miami University and 14 years teaching and learning with Miami’s Institute for Learning in Retirement, John Eicher, emeritus professor of chemistry, is getting recognized by the state of Ohio for his extraordinary life.

This week, at 95 years old, he’ll be inducted into the Ohio Senior Citizens Hall of Fame. He is one of ten Ohioans to be honored in the 2016 Hall of Fame class.

Since 1977, the Ohio Department of Aging has recognized more than 400 individuals for their “contributions to benefit humankind after age 60, or for a continuation of efforts begun before that age.”

After earning a degree in chemistry at Purdue University, he signed on to work on the Manhattan Project. He later earned his doctorate degree from Purdue and joined Miami in 1952 as a professor in the chemistry department. Eicher retired in 1989, but he never left the classroom.

He continued teaching with Miami’s Institute for Learning in Retirement (ILR), where he’s taught more than 25 classes and taken more than 100.

The Ohio Department of Aging describes the induction into the Senior Citizens Hall of Fame as a recognition of “the roles they play in their communities, state and nation; and for what they do to promote productive and enjoyable lives.”

Eicher – a chemist, father, teacher and student – will be inducted on Thursday, May 19, at the Ohio Statehouse and will be recognized by the Ohio Department of Aging, the Ohio Association of Area Agencies on Aging and members of the 131st Ohio General Assembly at a ceremony.

Nominees for the Ohio Senior Citizens Hall of Fame are evaluated by a selection committee. Detailed bios and photographs of all the inductees are online.