Rate My Professor Romy Knittel

Romy Knittel is a Senior Lecturer in the Biology Department within the School of Arts and Sciences at St. Bonaventure University, where she has been a faculty member since 1995. She earned a B.S. in Biology from Bucknell University and an M.S. in Plant Pathology from Pennsylvania State University. Knittel teaches core courses including BIO 105 Biological Science, BIO 106 Biological Science, and ES 401 Environmental Regulation and Testing. In addition to her teaching responsibilities, she serves as the Budget Officer for the Biology Department and has previously held the role of Environmental Compliance Officer at the university, managing regulated waste streams such as hazardous waste, universal waste, medical waste, and electronic equipment to ensure compliance with state and federal environmental regulations. She contributes to departmental operations by participating in hiring searches and acts as an orientation mentor, assisting new freshman classes and their families with academic schedules and major requirements. Knittel's dedication has been acknowledged through service milestone recognitions, including 25 years in 2019 and 30 years in 2025, as well as a promotion from lecturer to senior lecturer effective September 1, 2024.

Prior to her position at St. Bonaventure University, Knittel gained extensive experience in research and teaching. In 1994, she served as an adjunct faculty member at Alfred University, teaching lecture and laboratory sections of General Microbiology and Medical Microbiology. From 1991 to 1993, she worked as a Research Assistant and Laboratory Manager at Princeton University, assisting in projects involving monoclonal antibody development, genetic engineering for Drosophila studies, laboratory management, hazardous waste handling, and equipment maintenance. Earlier, she was a Biological Technician GS-7 with the USDA at Cornell University from 1989 to 1990, conducting research on barley yellow dwarf virus detection and viral coat proteins using molecular biology techniques. In 1985, she served as a Laboratory Technician at Lehigh University's Center for Marine and Environmental Studies, performing water quality assessments on wastewater from plastics manufacturing and sampling aquatic life in acid rain-affected lakes. Her scholarly output includes two 1991 publications co-authored with E.J. Pell: "Effects of drought stress and simulated acidic rain on foliar conductance of Zea mays L." in Environmental and Experimental Botany (31(1):79-90) and "Effects of simulated acidic rain on upper leaf surface of Zea mays L. foliage" in Canadian Journal of Botany (69:2637-2642).