My name is Dr. Toni Rice and I am originally from the North West of England and have lived in the USA for over 15 years. Prior to moving to the States, I attended the University of Sunderland and earned a BSc. in Chemical and Pharmaceutical Science in 1995. I then worked for Pfizer UK for a year before returning to the University of Bradford to obtain a Ph.D. in synthetic medicinal chemistry.

After defending my Ph.D. in 2004, I moved to the States to complete a chemistry Postdoctoral Research Fellowship with Dr. Moses Lee at Furman University in Greenville, SC. Dr. Lee became the Dean of Science at Hope College in 2005 and I ran his undergraduate chemistry research labs. After 3 years at Hope, I joined the Chemistry Department at GVSU as a tenure-track faculty member teaching Biochemistry and Organic Chemistry and researching DNA-targeted anti-cancer agents. I left to raise my family after 3 years. For the past 11 years I have been a stay-at-home Mum. During this time I also worked as a Tier 1 and Tier 2 provider in English and Math. Last year I was a part-time adjunct faculty member in the Chemistry Department at Hope College teaching General Chemistry Laboratory and Introduction to Biological Chemistry Laboratory. 

I have been hired as a High School Physics teacher, but will be teaching other science disciplines too (High School Chemistry and Middle School Physical Sciences), along with obtaining my Michigan Teaching Certificate in Integrated Sciences.  I am enrolled on the Certificate of Urban Education course at Davenport University.

In my spare time I love to watch romantic comedies, sew, crochet, learn piano, and hang out with my husband Barry, our two daughters (Ivy, 4th grade and Zoe, 6th grade) and our brand new kitten, Willow.

I am really excited to get to know all the students and staff at Black River. One of my career goals has been to make science fun, appealing and accessible to everyone. I am looking forward to joining the Black River family and hopefully making that happen!