About Us
Mission and Goals
To cultivate and support an inclusive and collaborative scholarly community grounded in the multiple ways of discovering and knowing the biological world.
We envision a department where we:
- Share the excitement and joy we feel about teaching and learning biology through classes, field, and laboratory experiences that are engaging, interesting, enjoyable, and fulfilling
- Support student growth as persons and as scholars as they identify and achieve their goals
- Discover and disseminate new knowledge about the biological world through collaborative research efforts among faculty and students
- Create a diverse community of scholars by cultivating connections and interactions between faculty, students, alumni, and the general public
More specifically, the goals of the department are to:
- Teach biology using inclusive, equitable, and student-centered approaches, including active learning, project-based instruction, and research within the classroom
- Attract, train, and learn from undergraduate and graduate students with a broad diversity of identities, through advising, mentorship, and professional development
- Recruit, develop, and learn from researchers and teachers with a broad diversity of identities, through peer mentorship, collaboration, and promotion
- Study key questions in biology using molecular, physiological, organismal, ecological, evolutionary, and educational approaches
- Engage students in generating and answering important scientific questions and disseminating their findings to the University and broader community
- Establish and maintain relationships with broader communities within and outside the university that are based on reciprocity and mutual benefit