The mission of the department is to educate students in biology to the highest level possible, consistent with their career goals and potentials. We will do this through a program of core and elective courses, delivering up-to-date content, and encouraging active learning, critical thinking, application of scientific methods, familiarity with modern technology, and relevant field and laboratory skills.
~ Contributing to the advancement of the discipline through teaching and research.
~ Supporting interdisciplinary programs by maintaining a rigorous disciplinary base.
~ Supporting the educational goals of students through quality mentoring, educational planning, instructional delivery, and curricular advances.
~ Facilitating student discovery in science through individualized and team-oriented learning experiences.
~ Maintaining the highest standards of rigor and ethics in educational pursuits.
~ Maintaining a well trained faculty and staff through attendance at professional seminars, workshops, and meetings.
~ Promoting collaboration with other institutions and programs on issues of common interest.
~ Sharing educational information and resources of interest with the campus, public, and scientific communities through electronic and/or traditional means.
It is too often believed that science is only about learning established facts rather than engaging in a questioning process. The inquiry-based laboratory components of our introductory, first-year Biology 11 and 12 courses represent a significant departure from traditional laboratory practice, and brings them in line with the national trend toward inquiry-based instruction in university science teaching. Our introductory courses have been carefully designed to give students considerable and repeated experiences in working with the scientific method, scientific exploration, and scientific development in the life sciences. During each of two eight-week laboratory blocks, in the fall and spring semesters, students have an in-depth experience in learning biology the way biologists do, namely by developing hypotheses, designing and conducting experiments, and testing them through accepted techniques and methods. This experience occurs both in the laboratory and the field, in teams of about 4 students each. Of equal importance, student teams are expected to statistically analyze their collected data and present their findings to their peers through either a formal poster session, a formal PowerPoint presentation, or by submitting a paper at the end of each theme block. The 4 theme blocks, over the two semester period, are designed so that all students will gain experience with all three presentation formats. The 4 theme blocks broadly represent the discipline of Biology: (1) Ecology and Evolution; (2) Physiology and Functional Anatomy; (3) Genetics, Cell and Molecular Biology, and (4) Biodiversity and Organismal Patterns of Development.