Message 
from 
Chair 
Chris 
Woodcock 

Dear alumni and friends,

Welcome to the first of a regular series of Newsletters to keep you up to date with events in the Biology Department, and in touch with each other. We aim to establish a web-based network of alumni through which you can communicate with classmates and friends, and which will also serve as a forum for discussion.

As you can see from the lead article, Biology is one of the youngest departments on Campus. Since our merger, we have seen a three-fold increase in the number of majors, and a similar increase in faculty scholarship, measured by grant activity and publications in prestigious 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 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 (above) which did yeoman service for 12 years, was replaced in 1988 and is now in a DC museum!