| Biofeedback 1995 - online version of the Biology Department's annual newsletter - 1995 edition |
Peterson's is a major publisher of college guidebooks. Top Colleges for Science will be the first-ever college guide to the nation's leading undergraduate science programs. The book will be targeted to high school students planning their college application process.
Andrews University and the other 200 schools were selected from among nearly 1,500 four-year colleges and universities that met the initial consideration criteria. Final selection was based three factors: (1) the number and percentage of baccalaureate alumni who earned doctorates in each of the basic sciences and mathematics from 1988 through 1992; (2) the number and percentage of undergraduates who earned their baccalaureate degrees in each of the basic sciences an mathematics from 1988 through 1992; and (3) the number and percentage of baccalaureate alumni awarded NSF Fellowships in the sciences and mathematics from 1990 through 1994. Based on these selection criteria, Peterson's analysis found that "Andrews University offers one of the nation's strongest programs in undergraduate science and mathematics."
"This is a significant honor," says Biology Department chair, John Stout.
"It speaks well for our science and mathematics faculty, as well as for
the students we attract into our programs."
http://www.biol.andrews.edu
The Biology Department invites you to visit its new home page on the
World Wide Web (WWW). The home page has links to three major areas: "Academic
Programs"- AU bulletin information, course descriptions, degree programs,
and class schedules; "Personnel"- information on faculty members, graduate
students, and alumni; and "Activities"- departmental research activities,
schedule of departmental seminars, presentations and other events, and
links to other WWW sites of biological interest.
How did this new site happen? Toward the close of the 1995 spring quarter, I needed information that was available in cyberspace. So I installed my first web browser and started surfing the WWW, looking for research and grant writing information. The power of this mode of publishing and disbursing information was stunning and I knew that in order for our department to stay on the cutting edge, we needed to develop a departmental web site. And so, with a little effort last summer, the site quietly made its appearance and has been serving and evolving ever since.
We are particularly excited about the electronic links to you, our alumni, because we believe that this mode of communication can develop into an valuable service to our students.
Suppose, for example, that you are an anesthesiologist. If one of our students wants to find out about anesthesiology as a profession, she could locate your address on our web page, read your vitae, and send you specific questions by email. Establishing contact with you begins the important process of networking which is so vital in today's job market. In addition, the student would get her questions answered from a credible source.
If you have an online service with an email address and would like to participate in this service to our students, please send an email message to me BIOLOGY@andrews.edu and let me know of your intentions.
How will the Biology WWW site develop in the future? It may (1) serve
to link students and teachers involved in "distance learning"; (2) carry
learning resources for classes offered both on and off campus (this is
already happening in Foundations of Biology); and (3) serve as a bulletin
board for research results and other documents of interest to browsers.
Many other possibilities exist.
During its 48-year existence, more than 100 AU students have taken
biology courses at the Walla Walla College Marine Station at Rosario Beach
near Anacortes, Washington. Andrews University enjoys a formal affiliation
with the Marine Station in which half the tuition for courses taken there
by AU students remains at Andrews. In exchange, AU provides a faculty member
to teach at the Station nearly every summer.
An average of seven AU students have studied biology at Rosario Beach during each of the past ten summers. "The setting allows students to learn about modes of life unknown in the midwest," notes AU biologist Jim Hayward whose spends each summer doing research at the Station. "Students tell us time and again that the Rosario experience is one of the highlights of their college experience."
Courses offered at the Station over the past few summers have included Marine Invertebrates, Marine Ecology, Marine Phycology, and Behavior of Marine Organisms. Other courses such as Comparative Physiology, Ornithology, and General Biology utilize marine organisms for study. Each upper division course includes a research project component so that students gain first-hand experience with the research process.
Currently a group of alumni and friends of the Station, Friends of Rosario
(FOR), has been working with the Walla Walla College administration and
board of trustees to upgrade station facilities. As a result of their efforts
new living quarters have been provided on the beach and plans call for
capital improvements throughout the entire campus. Two AU representatives
serve on the FOR board, AU president Niels-Erik Andreasen and biologist
Hayward.
Laboratory buildings and cabins along Rosario Beach at Andrews University's
Biology "extension campus" at the Walla Walla College Marine Station.
During the 1996 spring break thirteen AU Biology students will head
to Florida for some fun in the sun. But instead of partying on Daytona
Beach with throngs of their peers, they will be studying the natural history
of endangered birds and mammals in southern Florida.
The two-credit course, Topics in Natural History of the Everglades and the Florida Keys, will be taught by AU biologists Gordon Atkins and Tom Goodwin. Atkins, a neurobiologist, is also a serious birder and talented naturalist. Goodwin, a vertebrate paleontologist, has teaching and research interests in mammalian systematics and biogeography. Both are outstanding teachers, so prospects for a fascinating trip are high.
Enrollmentwise, the course is already full. A quick glance at the itinerary explains why. While Michiganders could still be shoveling March snow, trip participants will be snorkeling in the Florida Keys, boating along an inland waterway, and learning about one of North America's most unique ecosystems.
"In addition to the diving, the chance of participating in the old-fashioned
'naturalist form' of biology is really appealling to me," says Karen Giver,
a senior who plans on making the trip. "This will be experience-based biology."
We received several responses from alumni in early 1994 which,
due to a clerical error, failed to appear in the 1994 BioFeedback. We apologize
for these omissions, and include them in this issue even though some of
the information is probably out of date.We appreciate hearing from you
and encourage you to keep us informed of your activities.
