CSM Honors Paul Billeter with Professor Emeritus After Distinguished 48-Year Career

The College of Southern Maryland (CSM) Board of Trustees has conferred Professor Emeritus status to retired CSM Biology Professor Paul A. Billeter. The honor acknowledges Billeter’s distinguished 48 years of service to CSM students, faculty and the Southern Maryland community.  

“Paul Billeter was a mentor and role model during his many years at the college,” the CSM Faculty Senate wrote in its nomination. “As a faculty member, Paul worked tirelessly for both students and employees at CSM, demonstrating a commitment to fairness, honesty, personal integrity, and the transformative power of education. We can think of no one who more fully represents the positive ideals of the College of Southern Maryland’s faculty.”  

Billeter’s significant contributions during his CSM tenure includes developing and teaching courses – locally and abroad – in a variety of Biology pathways, including zoology laboratory, applied estuarine ecology, tropical marine ecology, ichthyology and ecology of the Chesapeake Bay. 

“I’m especially grateful to my Biology colleagues who recommended me for this honor and thank the faculty for advancing my name to the trustees,” Billeter shared upon hearing the news of his recognition. “I went to the college in 1965 and stayed until 2023 and am happy to continue working with CSM on travel-study and the Bee Campus. Spending time with my granddaughter is the greatest feature of retirement.”   

During his career with CSM, Billeter played a fundamental role in the faculty governance and served as the first chair of the Faculty Senate Committee on distance learning – developing the first two CSM distance learning courses and the first associate of arts degree that could be completed through distance learning. He also established the research internship program between CSM and the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory in Solomons, affording CSM students with opportunities to work at the research faculty. 

He also taught international travel study courses for CSM students in Marine Biology in the Galapagos, Virgin Islands, Jamaica, Cuba and Belize. He started and led the CSM Bee Campus USA initiative and helped to establish the CSM Bird Campus USA status.  

Billeter also worked for several years teaching oceanography in the college program inside of the Jessup Correctional Facility. 

At the National University of Rwanda, as part of an international grant to rebuild the country after the 1994 genocide, Billeter worked with professors and high school teachers to establish their science education curriculum. At the Civil Service College in Ethiopia and at Hasanuddin University in Indonesia, he consulted on issues of global distance education.  

Billeter made numerous notable contributions to the Southern Maryland community. He served as the Charles County Science Fair Safety Officer from 1979 to 1988 and was awarded “Maryland Distance Educator of the Year” in 1989 by the Maryland College of the Air Distance Education Tele-Consortium. He served as a member of the Steering Committee for Environmental Technology Curriculum in Charles County and as a member of the Steering Committee for the Preservation of Zekiah Swamp in Charles County. He continues to serve on the Town of La Plata Bee City USA subcommittee.