From the Chair

The Way It Seems – the Chairman’s Perspective

There have been many important developments in the Department of Biological Sciences during the past year as we continue on our path to national prominence in research and education. In reflecting on the past year, I have been struck by the broad array of changes in the department. The new developments have affected every aspect of the department’s mission, and we all can take pride in what has been achieved.

Some of the changes that have occurred in the past year include:

• Implementation of a revised undergraduate curriculum that focuses on principles and concepts, and provides breadth and a framework for understanding all living organisms.

• Institution of two interdisciplinary graduate degree programs in neurobiology, and bioinformatics and evolutionary studies.

• The creation and implementation of several new upper division and graduate level courses in the areas of molecular systematics, fish reproductive biology, plant-insect interactions and biocomplexity.

• The addition of five new faculty members with expertise in neurobiology and aging, fish endocrinology, fish population genetics, as well as the ecology and evolutionary biology of animal-plant interactions.

• Initiated the renovation of 9,500 square feet of space in Life Sciences South and Gibb Hall that will provide three entirely new laboratories; the renovation of three existing laboratories; new offices for faculty, research staff, and graduate students; the construction of a zebrafish rearing facility; an improved climate control system for the greenhouses; and a state-of-the-art DNA Sequence Analysis laboratory, as well as expansion and upgrading of the Stillinger Herbarium.

• The development of new introductory biology courses that incorporate Web-based materials that are designed to enhance student learning.

• Improvements have been made to the department’s Web site so we can more effectively communicate with our current and prospective students.

• Extramural research funding to the department has doubled in the past two years and now totals $4 million per year. The upward trend in extramural grant funding undoubtedly will continue in the short term.

• More undergraduates than ever before are conducting research in the laboratories of faculty, and a new program to provide stipends to undergraduate researchers has been created.

• A change in the composition of the research staff that resulted from the hiring of a significant number of research technicians and postdoctoral scientists.

These truly are exciting changes and it is an exciting time to be in the department. More information about many of these can be found in other articles of this issue of Biota. The collegiality and enthusiasm among faculty, staff and students is high. It’s clear to all that we are achieving new heights and developing an impressive, first-rate program that meets the needs of tomorrow’s work force.

Quite remarkably, much of this has occurred during a time when state funding to the university and, in turn, to the department has decreased. The financial picture for the future is still somewhat fuzzy, but we do know that it has been painted with various shades of grey. Further cuts are in the offing, and it will take considerable determination and creativity to sustain our momentum. The depressed state economy and the other fiscal problems of the university have already had severe consequences for the department. During the past two years there was a 9 percent one-time only and permanent budget reduction that resulted in the department losing faculty and support staff positions, and having less funding for other operations. In fiscal years 2004-07 we face additional reductions that may total more than 10 percent, and there are no concrete signs that the trend will be reversed in the near future. These reductions would be difficult enough to accommodate in times when enrollment growth is flat, but that has not been the case and undergraduate student enrollment at the University of Idaho has grown almost 7 percent during the same period of time.

In today’s economic climate, doing more with less in the public and private sectors is certainly not an uncommon phenomenon. Nonetheless, it presents special challenges to our efforts to sustain and improve the quality of education provided to students, and to bring the department’s research program to national prominence. We are challenged in our ability to offer a sufficient number of upper division electives for biology majors, graduate courses, and to participate in courses of the university’s Core Curriculum. Moreover, for the second year in a row, faculty and staff did not receive any salary increases, so we are challenged to retain highly qualified faculty and staff given that their workloads are increasing while their salaries remain flat. Finally, we are committed to increasing opportunities for undergraduates to conduct research. In the current climate, however, we are entirely dependent on gifts from alumni and other supporters of the university to fund these activities. In my opinion, higher education is in a state of financial crisis. The aspirations and expectations placed on colleges and universities in Idaho and across the country are rooted in the need to provide young men and women with the knowledge and skills they need. There is, however, a clear imbalance between resources and expectations. Something simply needs to give – either we lower our expectations of universities or increase the resources that are provided.

Some might think that it is inappropriate to “air the dirty laundry” in an annual newsletter that is sent to the friends and alumni of the department. That could be true, except it is a news letter and not all the news is pleasant to know; moreover, it is our dirty laundry. I urge you to consider this situation, weigh the consequences of our collective actions, and make your views known to me, the university administration, officials in state government or your representatives to federal government.