Saint Michael's College

Title: Associate Professor of Biology

Education: B.S. St. Joseph's University; M.S. University of Pittsburgh; Ph.D. University of Vermont

Areas of Expertise/Research Interests: Interactions among aquatic organisms, particularly macroinvertebrates

Testimonial: Saint Michael's students are hard-working and well motivated. But the most most of all, our students are nice and they build a very welcoming community.

What do you like most about teaching/working at Saint Michael's College? I like that the classes are small enough that I have time to read and make substantive comments on my student's papers and essays. I thoroughly enjoy the fact that we are surrounded by a range of study sites for my courses that include bogs, rivers, and a forested ecosystem that has had a prescribed burn.

What inspires students the most in your classes and/or your academic area? I find that the ability to learn how a field or lab system works, and then to pose questions and implement self-designed experiments, motivates students to commit fully to their course work.

What is your favorite class to teach, and why? I enjoy General Biology because my students and I get to do a full-scale research project that demonstrates how real field biology is done. In my Biology in Elementary Schools course I enjoy the interactions between Saint Michael's students and the students from our grade-school partner schools.

What kinds of unique opportunities are available to students in your classes or department? Our biology program starts with field-based research experience in sand plain forests that have been intentionally burned by the Army National Guard. This experiment would go beyond the budget of a typical college course, but the military have graciously allowed us to go and collect data at their site. The environmental track of the biology major includes three courses in the major subdiciplines of ecology. This combination of available courses uniquely prepares our students for environmental careers. The biology faculty includes professors currently funded by the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, Vermont EPSCoR (Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research), and other agencies. This funding, together with close ties to other researchers and applied scientists in our area provides a diverse range of reaearch opportunities and internships.

Favorite quote: "If all mankind were to disappear, the world would regenerate back to the rich state of equilibrium that existed ten thousand years ago. If insects were to vanish, the environment would collapse into chaos." - E.O. Wilson