The Department of Biological Sciences provides the biological component of the liberal arts education at Central Washington University. We promote student understanding of biological concepts relevant to the individual and to society, and foster an appreciation of scientific inquiry. Evolution is the unifying theme of our curriculum. Our students obtain a broad education covering a wide variety of biological disciplines. Our teaching philosophy and facilities support a rich education experience with small class sizes, hands-on experience, regular interaction with expert faculty, and opportunities for both undergraduate and graduate research. We offer a full complement of competitive pre-professional programs, strong programs in regional field biology, and a high-quality program for secondary biology educators.
The goals and activities of the department have been arrived at through both a top-down and a bottom-up process. The university and college missions set the background and environment for the direction and scope of the department's goals and activities. Student, faculty and staff input contribute to the specifics of the program along with their corresponding activities.
1. Develop, implement and maintain a continual process of program review in which all faculty members review and revise the mission, goals, and objectives of the department, develop strategies on how to best accomplish our goals and objectives, develop tools to assess our success, and establish departmental procedures and policies to create more informed and efficient decision-making. 2. Offer an undergraduate program that provides the knowledge, skills, and appreciation of the biological sciences for biology majors, general education students, and students in other majors whose programs require biology. 3. Provide a rigorous program of graduate training at the Master’s level. 4. Maintain a group of faculty capable of providing instruction in the three broad areas of biology: (1) Cell and Molecular Biology, (2) Organismal Biology, and (3) Ecology. Within the faculty there should be knowledge of all major groups of organisms and all levels of biological organization. 5. Enhance opportunities for faculty scholarship, research, and development. The ability of the Department to provide an enriched, diverse learning environment in the biological sciences for majors and general education students is directly related to the vitality, expertise, and diversity of its personnel. Existing faculty must be provided with the opportunity to continue to develop their teaching and research skills. 6. Obtain the necessary resources to carry out our mission and goals. 7. Provide services to other areas within the University, community, and region.
As an ultimate measure of how well we have achieved our goals we are beginning to assess our students at the end of their degrees and at 1-5 years post-graduation. The end of major assessment is in the form of a national standardized test and the post-graduation assessment is in the form of a survey. In addition to these assessments, we are planning on implementing a procedure where we can track the careers of our graduates.
1. We have hired 5 new tenure-track faculty since 1988. An additional faculty search is in process this academic year. 2. We argued for, and received, approval to hire two new staff members important to our departmental operations: an office assistant and engineering technologist. 3. We appointed the 1998-99 interim chair to a full 4-year term beginning fall of 1998 and expiring in 2003. This appointment was made after a failed outside search for a chair. 4. We argued for, and received, approval to convert a part-time adjunct position to a regular 9-month non-tenure-track position 5. The department moved from its old quarters into the new Science Building. 6. In June 2000, the departments programs and operations were reviewed by two members of the Council of Undergraduate Research (CUR). The final report is included in the appendix. 7. We have continued to review and revise our curriculum. One major change was to consolidate courses labeled BISC (Biological Sciences), BOT (botany) and ZOOL (zoology) into a single prefix (BIOL), reflecting our view that the department is a unified biology department rather than a collection of biological specialities. We have developed several new courses, and deleted courses that are no longer priorities. 8. We have updated all student handouts, including course requirements for degree programs, specialization within programs, and student handbooks (both undergraduate and graduate.) 9. We created a department web site and links. (www.cwu.edu/biology/) 10. We developed undergraduate and graduate posters advertising biology programs, and mailed them to high schools and colleges throughout our western United States. (See appendix.) 11. Our staff and faculty continue to host and provide scientific tours for approximately 1000 K-12 students each year. The students come from both public and private schools in Washington and neighboring states. In addition we also commonly provide tours requested by parent and business groups and legislators. 12. Our faculty has increased their efforts to obtain extra funding. Consequently, the number of awards has greatly increased in the last few years. See Section III-D, and CVs and University Partnerships in appendix. 13. We have greatly increased our efforts in mentoring students and involving them in research projects. The increasing number of SOURCE presentations reflect this effort by the faculty. 14. Specific faculty and students have received a number of honors. 15. We continue to manage and award yearly scholarships from the Dennis W. Farrell Foundation to pre-medical students. 16. The Natural Science Seminar series continues to be an important biweekly event which brings students, faculty and members of the local community together. 17. We have expanded our summer course offerings, which has been helpful to students and profitable for the department. 18. The annual Greenhouse Open House continues to be held and draws many individuals from across campus and from the Ellensburg community. 19. With financial assistance from the administration, we redesigned and installed new equipment for the large aquaria in the foyer of the science building. 20. Members of our faculty played a leading role in organizing and presenting the first “Faculty and Graduate Student Research and Scholarly Achievements Conference” in the spring of 2002. 21. The department continues to provide identification services (plants, animals, fungi and microbes) for individuals and agencies. 22. The department developed, implemented and expanded field course offerings for majors, including: Regional Natural History, Field Techniques, Biomes, Desert Ecology and Coral Reef Ecology. 23. The department developed, and implemented laboratory course offerings for majors. 24. The department developed and implemented a number of university enrichment courses. 25. We hosted the Biology Seminar Series for three years bringing in speakers from the Northwest. 26. This year we initiated the Phil Dumas Lecture series which will feature internationally recognized researchers. 27. The Department has organized and implemented at least two faculty retreats to discuss programs, curricula and other issues.
1. We continue work on core curriculum issues and course requirements in three areas of specialization.
2. Continue work on developing an assessment program that better measures the effectiveness of our programs.
3. Increased funding, especially in goods and services, is critical for the following reasons:
a. Van replacement and/or for van rental from motorpool
b. Equipment maintenance and replacement
c. Replacement of computers and software upgrades
4. This year the department is faced with finding and appointing a new chair.
5. Over the next two years, the department will likely have to find replacements for two tenure-track faculty, two phased retirees, and at least one staff member.
6. The department will seek funding for two additional, half-time staff: a computer/website technician (50/50 biology & chemistry), and a curator of collections. The Department of Biological Sciences at Central Washington University has high standards of instruction that prepare undergraduate and graduate students for successful post-graduate lives. The Department, consistent with the mission of the University, strives to help students develop lifelong learning skills that will allow them to become productive members of society. A mechanism whereby academic development and lifelong learning occurs is through interactions with our students that begin with excellent teaching.
The B.A. degree is designed to develop breadth in the sciences generally. Students completing the Bachelor of Arts major will find that their strong general background will allow them flexibility career choices. The Bachelor of Arts degree meets the requirements for admission to most graduate schools and medical schools. The B.S. major offers the opportunity to specialize in a field of biology or work toward becoming a high school biology teacher. The degree can be designed to prepare the student for immediate entrance into a chosen profession or for preparation for graduate work. The specific program is to be designed by the student and the appropriate departmental advisor, and must be submitted for approval to the Department of Biological Sciences at least one academic year preceding graduation. We have offered several specializations for Biology majors pursuing a B. S. degree, including General Biology, Environmental Public Health Biology, Ecology, Medical Technology, Microbiology, and Plant Sciences. We are currently working toward consolidating these into three fields of emphasis within biology: cellular and molecular biology, organismal biology, and ecology. We also offer a Biology teaching major, which satisfies the Primary endorsement for Biology. Students taking this major are required to complete the professional education program requirements offered through the Curriculum and Supervision Department. Minors in Biology: Teaching Elementary and Biology: Teaching Secondary are available for students seeking a supporting endorsement in Biology. The department oversees Allied Health Sciences, which advises students in preprofessional programs such as pre-medicine, pre-dentistry, pre-veterinary, and pre-physical therapy.
Our faculty members keep the curriculum current and relevant to our students in the following ways:
• Review and adoption of new textbooks
• Incorporation of recent scientific findings (from journals and other sources) into lectures and reading packets for students
• Incorporation of current faculty research into lectures
• Discussion of new scientific discoveries and science-related problems reported in newspapers, magazines, and other materials available to the general public
• Incorporation of materials into labs, lectures, and discussions from web sites of professional scientific and educational organizations
• Discussion of teaching strategies and course content with colleagues at other universities and at scientific meetings
• Modification of course content and format based on student and peer evaluations
• Inviting guest speakers to lecture on current research and applications The faculty of the Department of Biological Sciences regularly meet as specific departmental committees and smaller working groups. The Curriculum Committee has facilitated two faculty workshops over the past 4 years. These workshops lasted one to two days and involved all biology faculty. Issues such as course content, integration of key topics throughout the curricula, and coordination of content between courses were among the topics discussed.
We offer several courses in general education. Our Fundamentals of Biology course satisfies the breadth requirement for Fundamental Disciplines of Physical and Biological Sciences. In the Patterns and Connections in the Natural World section, we offer Plants in the Modern World, Human Physiology, and Introduction to Evolution; we also contribute faculty to ENST 301 (Earth as an Ecosystem). Our Human Ecology course falls under Applications of Natural Science. Our faculty also participate in teaching ENST 302 (Ecosystems, Resources, Population and Culture).
The department offers a Master of Science degree in Biology. The program provides an expanded opportunity for students to prepare themselves for biological careers not normally open to students with only an undergraduate major in biological sciences, prepares students for further graduate work leading to the Ph.D. degree, and allows students to meet the requirements for continuing certification in secondary education, while concurrently earning an M.S. degree in Biology. We offer both thesis and non- thesis options; most students pursue the thesis option.
Department faculty use technology as a communication and organizational tool that supports excellent teaching. Examples of technology that is being used to help students learn science include course management software (Blackboard), presentation software (i.e. PowerPoint), database software (Microsoft Access and ISI Researchsoft EndNote), assessment software (TestGen EQ and CourseCompass), visualization and modeling software (CHIME and RasMol), statistical software (SPSS), and various websites (either existing or constructed by faculty for their courses).
The Department does not offer any substantial programs at University centers. However, because of student demand, we now offer two general education courses at Lynnwood center each year. Whether or not we continue doing this will depend upon enrollment and faculty availability.
We continue to manage and award yearly scholarships from the Dennis W. Farrell Foundation to pre-medical students. The number of scholarships given has increased over the five years. Specifically, we have awarded 62 Dennis Farrell scholarships and another 17 to incoming freshmen. The Natural Science Seminar series continues to be an important biweekly event which brings students, faculty and members of the local community together. A list of recent seminars is included in supporting materials. The annual Greenhouse Open House continues to be held and draws many individuals from across campus and from the Ellensburg community.
We also try to enrich student life on campus by affording students the opportunity to collaborate with faculty on research projects, participate in SOURCE and Biology Club activities, and attend the bi-weekly Natural Science Seminar presentations. Finally, those curious about the identity and/or biology of organisms (e.g. plants, mushrooms, algae, bacteria, insects, spiders, fish, birds, mammals, etc.) can usually find the information they seek, free of charge, from specialists in the Department.
We have greatly increased our efforts in mentoring students and involving them in research projects. The increasing number of SOURCE presentations reflect this effort by the faculty.
The Department of Biological Sciences is a relatively large and complex unit (see chart). The Department employs twenty-two faculty (12 fill-time, 3 half-time, 3 phased and 4 adjunct professors), and seven graduate teaching assistants. We also employ seven classified staff members, including technicians and secretarial staff. Therefore, Biology is a team of 36 persons, under the supervision of the Chair, who work smoothly and efficiently to meet goals.
Personnel Committee - This standing committee establishes policy and procedures for the regularly occurring faculty personnel issues with which all CWU departments deal. These include reappointment, promotion, tenure, merit, post-tenure review, etc. The committee attempts to fulfill its role in reviewing faculty performance while promoting the mentoring of especially our junior faculty.
Faculty administer the MFAT and review the comments of students concerning their coursework. Faculty are also involved in working groups that assemble questions to assess students knowledge in specific fields. This evaluation will also be administered during the BIOL 499.1 course. An example of a series of questions assembled by the Cellular and Molecular Biology working group are attached to this report. The scoring of this exam is performed by faculty and the results discussed among the specific working groups. The entire department will be involved in the discussion of these results, however, the implementation of this assessment tool has only recently been initiated.
Data provided by Instructional Research and other appropriate offices.
The biology department relies on the library for access to journals, books, reference materials, maps, and as a repository for reserve material. The Biology department makes extensive use of interlibrary loan services, and databases such as the Web of Science. The library provides us with several thousands of dollars of journal subscriptions and a book budget of approximately $5,500/year. The library is a vital source of information for our graduate students as they develop thesis projects, and is essential for undergraduate students involved in undergraduate research and class projects.
The journals/serials budget has been cut time and time again, resulting in a reduced capacity to meet our student and faculty need. We attempt to make up for some of this deficit by making our personal subscriptions available for students (approximately 48 titles). Decreased serials funding has also placed a much greater burden on the interlibrary loan department, who are understaffed already. As a department we strongly advocate increased funding for books and journals.
Many of our upper division classes have components which require our students to gather, analyze and critique primary literature. The library staff work extremely hard to gather data on our discipline, and many resources in biology can be found by linking to the library home page. They have been very active in trying to find less expensive alternatives, such as on-line subscriptions and the use of state services such as Cascade, to meet our needs.
The Department of Biological Sciences is a relatively large and complex unit (see chart). The Department employs twenty-two faculty (12 fill-time, 3 half-time, 3 phased and 4 adjunct professors), and seven graduate teaching assistants. We also employ seven classified staff members, including technicians and secretarial staff. Therefore, Biology is a team of 36 persons, under the supervision of the Chair, who work smoothly and efficiently to meet goals. At present, most organizational and policy work is done by committees with final major decisions made by the department faculty.
Department Faculty Committee of the Whole - The Biology faculty meets regularly (currently we have been meeting once each week). At these meetings final decisions on curriculum, personnel, and other departmental concerns are made. Often groundwork and recommendations from other committees and/or the chair precede these decisions. (membership -- all faculty) Curriculum Committee -- This standing committee examines and makes recommendations to the faculty on all matters concerning our undergraduate curriculum. Proposals for course and program changes are submitted through this committee. When not handling specific proposals, this committee discusses broader and more philosophical issues concerning our curricula (assessment, course and program outcomes, etc.) and organizes department- wide discussions on these issues. (membership -- four to five faculty) Personnel Committee - This standing committee establishes policy and procedures for the regularly occurring faculty personnel issues with which all CWU departments deal. These include reappointment, promotion, tenure, merit, post-tenure review, etc. The committee attempts to fulfill its role in reviewing faculty performance while promoting the mentoring of especially our junior faculty. Graduate Committee - This standing committee examines and makes recommendations to the faculty on all matters concerning our graduate curriculum. These matters include graduate program policy and procedures, graduate curriculum, and graduate admissions. (membership- four to five faculty) Working Groups - Three working groups have recently been established in the Department: (1) Cell and Molecular WG, (2) Organismal WG, (3) Ecology WO. These groups sometimes meet on their own accord to discuss curriculum and advising issues in their respective areas. At other times, they are called upon by the chair or department to discuss and give recommendations on issues of more broad concern in the department. Recently, these groups have been examining the need for a potential reorganization of our B. S. specializations. (membership -- faculty members whose expertise lie in each area) Search Committees -- In recent years we have hired many new faculty, and these searches are organized and conducted by search committees. Search committees do much of the work involved in this process while regularly reporting to the faculty as a whole. (membership - - three to four faculty or staff members appointed by the chair) Other Committees - When specific situations dictate, ad hoc committees are formed by the chair or by consensus to discuss and make recommendations on various issues, e.g. space allocation, staff hiring, etc.