MS, Wildlife Ecology, Fish Biology Major, Aquaculture Specialty, Wildlife Management minor coursework, Mississippi State University
BS, Fishery Management, Mississippi State University
About Mr. Downs
Bud Downs was born in 1952 and “born again” in 1979. He is married and has six children. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1971-1975 aboard the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Saratoga (CV-60) and served in the Gulf of Tonkin, Viet Nam and the “Med.” In later years he also served as a “weekend warrior” in the Mississippi Army National Guard (1978-1979) and the Colorado Army National Guard (1987-1989).
Over the years, Mr. Downs has worked as a marine fisheries biologist, aquaculturist, Peace Corps volunteer, junior high school teacher, consultant, pastor, and college professor. His more memorable experiences include working with sea turtles and developing the T.E.D.’s (Turtle Excluder Devices) in use today while employed with the National Marine Fisheries Service; reef-fish and ground-fish studies, also done with NMFS; his graduate research on culture of hybrid striped bass using power plant warm water effluent, done as a joint project with Tennessee Valley Authority biologists; the culture of spider crabs and lobsters done as a joint project with the U.S. Peace Corps, the Smithsonian Institute, and Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute; and the fish and wildlife projects he worked on and developed while working for the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe’s Game, Fish and Parks Department in South Dakota.
While employed with CRST, Mr. Downs and his wife helped start a small church (Cheyenne River Baptist Church). He was later ordained and served part-time as the pastor of that church. In 1996, he took the pastorate of a small independent Baptist church in North Dakota and served there full-time until August of 2001, when he began his ministry at Maranatha Baptist Bible College.
He is presently conducting research on water-quality and fish habitat improvement in Wisconsin’s Rock River via use of biological control of the carp (Cyprinus carpio) population. Two students are assisting as part of a program of independent study. Part of the study involves food preferences of channel catfish, a species which they will be culturing in their small intensive indoor aquaculture system located in the basement of Hanneman Hall.
Mr. Downs and his colleagues are also in the process of developing a supplement to the present biology textbook to offer a creationist perspective to the subjects included in the text.
Why Mr. Downs likes teaching at Maranatha
“Many opportunities to use other skills/abilities than simply those for which I was specifically hired, e.g. preaching opportunities, teaching in foreign lands (Peru), summer missions trips (Mexico) and interaction with students in recreational areas (i.e. martial arts, hunting, fishing, etc.).”
Personal information
Mr. Downs enjoys a number of outdoor sports, such as hunting, fishing, and hiking. In years past, he also did some skin and scuba diving. However, most of his free time has been taken up with the martial arts. He received his first black belt in 1981. A few years after receiving his third-degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do, he separated from his secular organization and formed a Christian martial arts organization.
Ministry
Mr. Downs serves with his family at Calvary Baptist Church in Watertown, where he leads an adult Sunday school group, ushers, and directs Teknon Fos. Teknon Fos (Children of Light) Martial Arts Institute operates as a Christian ministry out of Calvary Baptist Church. His children are also involved in the program, and the older ones hold black belts or advanced ranks in Tae Kwon Do as well.