Department of Biology Annual Retreat, Jan 17-18, 2013
Retreat Agenda Thursday – State of the department Staff – optimal workflows BSCI program and curriculum Dept research and budget – Presentations Research Teaching/program development Friday (at SESYNC – Annapolis) – Faculty discussions Exploring ways to improve curriculum and research
The Department of Biology People (~230) – Staff – Students: undergraduate and graduate – Research assistants and postdocs – Faculty: instructional and research Publications Grants Department Budget – Annual income – Annual expenditures – Donations
Honors Program Number in ProgramPlacement of Honors Students Medical school
Graduate Students Number by degreeNumber by Program
Graduate Student Support FellowshipNumber NSF GRFP11 NIH NRSA2 NIH NRTA2 NASA2 NOAA2 Smithsonian5 Fulbright1 Ford Foundation1 Total26 Graduate Teaching Assistantships (30-40%)Competitive Fellowships (17%)
Graduate Student Placement Placement of 71 Biology PhD’s Boston University Medical School Cal Tech Harvard University Indiana University Michigan State University NASA NIH Northwestern NSF, AAAS Scripps Smithsonian NMNH (2) Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (2) Stanford SUNY Stony Brook Tufts Medical School UCLA Medical Center University of California, San Diego UMD (6) University College London University of Georgia University of Illinois University of London University of Michigan University of Pennsylvania University of Southern California University of Wisconsin Unviersity of Texas Uppsala Universitet Virginia Tech Weizman Institute Yale University Postdoc Institutions
Postdocs NumberPlacement of 71 Biology Postdocs
Faculty Year Number PeriodRecruitedRetired/deceasedMoved Inst
Research Faculty Year Number
Dept of Biology Publications 248 journals!
Dept of Biology Publications
Molecular and Cellular Biology
Neuroscience
Genetics and Evolution
Ecology
General Science
CMNS Grant Awards Fiscal Year
CMNS Grant Awards Fiscal Year
Biology Grant Funds
Biology Proposal Outcomes FY09 39% of 80 proposals FY11 22% of 67 proposals
Biology Income $5.1M $4.8M
Biology Expenses
Donations Year Cumulative Amount # donations in
Concluding Remarks Staff organization and quality – Best it has been in my 25 years in the department Student talent – Best undergraduates are exceptional – need to engage them in on-campus research early – BISI program has increased overall applicant quality and encouraged students with interdisciplinary interests Research – We are an integrative biology department – Upcoming retirements will provide opportunities to increase connectivity – Department financial situation will allow growth – Federal funding climate remains uncertain. Diversification may be the best strategy – both for individual PI’s and for department