Department of Biology s1

DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY

Mailing Address: P.O. Box 4010 Atlanta GA 30302-4010

Express Mail Address: Kell Hall – Room 402 24 Peachtree Center Avenue Atlanta GA 30303

Phone: 404/651-2259 Fax: 404/651-2509

Biology Program Review 2005: Chair’s Comments

The Biology 2005 Self Study Committee is chaired by the Associate Chair, Dr. Teryl Frey, and consists of members of the Executive Committee, the Director of Instructional Programs, the five Graduate Directors, the Undergraduate Director and the Directors of Associated Centers. The size of the committee and the document reflects accurately the complexity and activities of the Department. In the document, the Self Study Committee presented an excellent and thorough report outlining the Department’s accomplishments, strengths, and weaknesses in Instruction, Scholarly Activity and Service, and gave a unified vision of future directions. I concur with the report and will thus comment only from the administrative point of view.

Since the last Program Review in 1996, the Department of Biology has continued to grow and excel in all areas of instruction, research, and service, and has emerged as one of the strongest programs within the University. Biology continues to be one of the top instructional credit hour generators, and has also secured the most external funding of any department in the University. The number of undergraduate biology majors has doubled in the last decade, in large part due to significant contributions from a group of dedicated lecturers. Together with the Department of Chemistry, the Biology Department has been able to acquire and maintain the state-of-the-art Advanced Biotechnology Core facilities. These facilities allow faculty, along with their M.S. and Ph.D. students (whose numbers have also doubled since the last Program Review), to carry out the excellent research necessary to be competitive nationally for federal and other external funding. The fact that external funding for the Department has increased four-fold since the last Review provides strong evidence for the research excellence of Biology faculty. In addition, the Department has been able to recruit outstanding faculty with established research programs, including a Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar, Dr. Julia Hilliard, who heads a NIH Resource Center and three Georgia Cancer Coalition Distinguished Scientists. With the establishment of the NSF-funded Center for Behavioral Neuroscience (CBM), headed by Regents’ Professor Elliott Albers, four Neuroscience faculty members have been added to the Department. Two of these four faculty members are Science Educators who have assumed primary responsibility for outreach programs involving the CBN as well as for collaborative programs with ZooAtlanta and the newly opened Georgia Aquarium. The Bio-Bus Program, a mobile laboratory outreach program headed by Dr. Barbara Baumstark, has made an enormous impact on K-12 science education throughout the state of Georgia and has received support from the University, the Colleges of Arts and Science and Education, and NSF. In collaboration with the Departments of Chemistry and Computer Sciences, Biology has taken a leading role in developing interdisciplinary programs in Bioinformatics, Biotechnology, Cancer Biology, Biocomputing and

Georgia State University, a unit of the University System of Georgia, is an equal opportunity Educational institution and is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY

Phone: 404/651-2259 Fax: 404/651-2509

Structural Biology. Biology faculty members head all four interdisciplinary Board of Regents Centers. In addition, two Biology faculty members (Drs. Don Edwards and Teryl Frey) coordinate and direct two Areas of Focus programs that encompass several departments and cut across college lines, involving faculty in Business, Law, and Human and Health Sciences in addition to those in Arts and Sciences. The Department was also heavily involved in the submission of two major NIH grant applications that, though not funded, helped to draw attention to the opportunities available at GSU for research programs requiring Biocomputing and Biocontainment facilities. Since 2002, the Biology Department, in collaboration with Chemistry and Computer Sciences, has organized annual Biotech Symposia that have brought nationally and internationally renowned scientists to join GSU and Georgia Research Alliance-related faculty and students for scholarly exchanges of scientific findings. It is clear that Biology programs have progressed and excelled in all areas of instruction, research and service. It is gratifying that the quality, centrality and vitality of the Biology programs have been recognized in the University’s Strategic Plan.

The opportunity for the Biology Department to assume an even more dynamic role in support of the University’s goals and objectives comes with major challenges. Although its success in securing external funding may have led to the perception that Biology is over-funded, in fact the reverse is true, particularly with respect to support for its instructional programs. In FY05, the Biology Department was allocated $5M less than it was due to receive according to the Board of Regents’ credit hour funding formula; this was the biggest variance in the University and almost equal to the total budget ($5.5M) received by the Department. Despite the Department’s growing need for instructional resources, support has not kept pace. The need for funds to support additional Graduate Laboratory Assistants to teach undergraduate laboratory sections (which have increased from 60 to more than 110 since 1997) is particularly acute. Indeed, the Action Plan from the last Program Review calling for funding for additional GLAs has yet to be fully fulfilled. That the Department has prospered under these circumstances is a testimony to the devotion and sacrifices of its many dedicated faculty.

One of the most pressing challenges currently facing Biology is the necessity to balance the workload of the faculty so that they can continue to contribute optimally to the success of the Department. A major demand on faculty time is the need to provide quality instruction to students conducting independent research, especially those carrying out Ph.D. dissertation projects. One of the stated goals of the last Program Review was to increase the opportunities for undergraduates to participate in faculty research projects. With the success of the Department in meeting this goal, coupled with the increase in its graduate programs, the ratio of research students per tenure-track faculty now stands at 8:1, and includes 3 Ph.D. students/faculty. Since each of these students must receive mentoring on an individualized basis, this increase represents a sizable commitment on the part of the faculty. Adding to the workload of accomplished and mature programs is the time and effort

Georgia State University, a unit of the University System of Georgia, is an equal opportunity Educational institution and is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY

Phone: 404/651-2259 Fax: 404/651-2509 spent by faculty members in professional service on review panels for federal granting agencies and on editorial boards. This overextension of faculty effort is threatening to take a serious toll: already, several senior faculty have been forced to delay publication or miss grant application deadlines so they can meet their instructional and service commitments. Other accomplished faculty also feel the stress. This undoubtedly contributes to the lack of proactive mentoring for junior faculty, a deficiency pointed out in the faculty survey for the self-study.

The combined support of the Department, the College and the University has built an environment that rewards faculty excellence in the three areas of instruction, service and research. As GSU seeks to become a well–respected urban research university, it must overcome the perception that it is merely a teaching institution, and come to the realization that Biology programs do need to compete nationally for research funding. The challenge is to generate a balance between instruction and research that optimizes faculty effectiveness and enhances the University’s reputation for excellence in both areas. In a time of dwindling research funding and increased regulatory compliance requirements, a major challenge for Biology will be to develop a workload policy that enables faculty to continue to excel and compete nationally for research support. Faculty also need infrastructural support for their instructional and research efforts, and should receive salaries commensurate with their contributions to the University. It is essential that these issues be addressed if the Department intends to continue the recruitment and retention of outstanding established faculty and ensure the success of its junior faculty. By working to resolve these difficulties, the administration will provide validation for the selfless efforts made over the last 20 years by Biology faculty members on behalf of the Department, the College and the University.

With the opening of GSU’s Research Park in the next few years, the Department of Biology will continue to play a major role in the University’s aim of reaching $100 million in external funding by 2010. The Department has made significant progress since the last review in 1996. Now it needs the resources and support from the University so that it will reach its fullest potential and contribute in the most effective way possible to the achievement of the University’s strategic goals.

Georgia State University, a unit of the University System of Georgia, is an equal opportunity Educational institution and is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer.