Department retreat

The Department had its annual retreat yesterday and, I thought, showed more coherence than in past years. I think it speaks volumes about the leadership of our current chair, who has worked diligently at building effective structures for governance in the department, stimulated much greater interaction among the faculty, and has been tough when necessary. The result is that the retreat felt like part of an on-going discussion.

We had an extended discussion about the curriculum. We made plans to start a regular discussion group around teaching and learning. We looked at data from the senior survey and discussed how we could improve the student experience. I believe that one of our challenges has been that a significant number of students become a Biology major merely because the name is familiar -- not because they've considered their choice carefully and selected the best department for their interests. This has several effects: one is that we have a large population of majors and another is that a significant portion is compose of students who aren't making critical choices. These students reach the end of their studies and discover that their degree (absent any conscious effort on their part) doesn't prepare them for any particular career track. One thing we clearly need to do better is to provide more guidance to students so that they do use their time at the University to prepare more effectively for their life afterwards. But more effective mechanisms for helping students choose Biology affirmatively (and considering other departments critically), might help us as well.

We also discussed a variety of other topics: supporting the research mission more effectively and adjusting the name of the department. The discussion was spirited, but consistently respectful and with a sense of shared community.