Undergraduate programs in biology on this campus have been given big boosts by grants from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Undergraduate Biological Science Education Program. Two consecutive grants, totaling $2.2 million, have had an enormous impact on undergraduate education in biology.
Under the direction of Dr. Rod Murphey, Professor of Biology and Director of the Molecular and Cellular Biology Graduate Program, the grants have made possible dramatic improvements in equipment available to undergrads, and assisted in development of the Microbiology and Molecular Biology Laboratory Support Services which runs a state of the art lab for molecular studies. They also have supported expansion of the research experiences for undergraduates. Students at all levels, from freshmen to seniors, are now working in faculty research labs during the academic year, and have the opportunity to spend 10 weeks during the summer on research projects in chemistry, biology, neuroscience, and molecular biology. Students in these summer Research Experience for Undergraduates programs receive $250 per week; they work full time in faculty labs and participate in seminars with other students and faculty. During the last academic year, 170 students worked in over 60 labs.
The importance of the undergraduate research experience is confirmed by our own survey of recent graduates. Virtually all students who have had this experience have gone on to graduate or medical school, or have obtained research positions after graduation.
The grants have also supported the development of the Biology Computer Resource Center (BCRC) (see article on page 3) and a variety of outreach programs, including a Summer Institute for High School Teachers administered by Dr. Bruce Byers, and special programs for high school students, particularly those from Springfield schools.

Except for those of you who are recent grads or among those who received our newsletter of 1994, it may seem this newsletter is coming from a department you do not know.  Six years ago, Botany and Zoology faculty joined to form a Biology Department, with Dr. Steve Kaulenas (former Head of Zoology) as Head, and Dr. James Walker (former Head of Botany) as Associate Head. After completion of Dr. Kaulenas' term, Dr. Chris Woodcock took the Headship.
In order to keep some sense of unity in the plant field, a Plant Biology Graduate Program (PBGP) was formed within the new Biology Department. During the 1997-1998 academic year, the PBGP became campus-wide for all faculty working in the plant field. The current director of the PBGP, Dr. Peter Hepler, is a 20 year faculty member of the University and Ray Ethan Torrey Professor of Botany. 
The merger of the Botany and Zoology Departments was just one of the administrative changes which have occurred on this campus in recent years. As in higher education elsewhere in the United States, major efforts are being made to reduce isolation between departments and "blur" departmental boundaries.
The Molecular and Cellular Biology Program, which has been in existence for more than 15 years, was the first of the graduate programs to cross departmental lines.  It was followed by the Neuroscience and Behavior Program.  
As Botany and Zoology were being united, the Program in Organismic and Evolutionary Biology came into existence. Now, with the creation of these four graduate programs, virtually all faculty in the life sciences have another potential "home" in one of the programs.  
Although the latter are all graduate programs, they have had a major impact on our undergraduate programs; they have led to undergraduate seminars in these fields, and increased opportunities for undergraduates to work in faculty research labs during the summer and academic year.  Since the graduate programs have become central to the development of the life sciences on our campus, in future issues of this newsletter, we will provide a more detailed picture of them.
 

Message
from
Chair
Chris
Woodcock

on Campus. Since our merger, we have seen a three-fold increase in number of majors, and a similar increase in faculty scholarship, measured by grant activity and publications in journals, four Nature papers in two years!  Recent innovations include the establishment of the BCRC (Biology Computer Resource Center), development of a new curriculum based on learning goals, and renovation of the Intro Biology teaching labs to promote enquiry- based learning.
We want to make the newsletter of interest and use to our alumni, and would like to hear the sort of things you like to read about.
Would you prefer articles on the

current activities of former friends and colleagues, or news about ‘hot’ items of local research?  Would you be interested in visiting the campus, maybe with a group from your year?  Could you write a short article for the newsletter?  Let us know how to adjust the style and content of your Alumni Newsletter.
If your Newsletter arrived by mail, you may like to check out your alumni web site which includes the letter, an event calendar, as well as links to additional info at URL:
www.bio.umass.edu/biology/alumni.
We also set up a forum for Email conversations. To subscribe to your Alumni Email Forum, simply send an Email message to:

majordomo@bio.umass.edu with the words subscribe alumni_forum in the body of the message. You will receive a message back with details of the system.  If you can access Newsletters via the web, please let us know - reducing the number of printed copies and postage (there are over 6,000 Alumni) will funnel more resources into education, our primary mission.
 
PS. Those who were on campus in the 80’s may recognize the Siemens 102 electron microscope (left) which did 12 years of yeoman service, was replaced in 1988 and is now in a DC museum!