Frank S. Gilliam received his Ph.D. at Duke University in 1983, moving on to post-doctoral research at Kansas State University and the University of Virginia, and teaching at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He joined the faculty at Marshall University in 1990, where he is professor of biological sciences, teaching courses in ecology and plant ecology. His research interests lie at the interface between terrestrial plant communities and ecosystems. He is the husband of Laura Pleasants Gilliam, and the grateful father of two children-Rachel MacKenzie Gilliam and Ian Stuart Gilliam.