This Is a Short Presentation on the Department of Biological Sciences at Kent State University

This is a short presentation on the department of Biological Sciences at Kent State University. My name is Dr. Laura Leff. I am the Acting Chair of the department. Dr. Derek Damron is our Assistant Chair. Dr. Heather Caldwell is our Graduate Coordinator, and Dr. Sean Veney, is our Undergraduate Coordinator. We are located in Cunningham Hall on the Kent State University campus, and our main office is Room 256.

We offer a variety of Bachelor’s programs in our department. That includes a B.A. degree in Biology, as well as B.S. Degrees in Biology, Botany, Conservation, Zoology, Medical Technology, and Biotechnology.

All of our undergraduates take CORE courses in biology, chemistry, and mathematics and then from there they specialize based on their particular major. Within the BS Biology program, we have three concentrations: Pre-Medicine, Molecular and Cellular, and Organismal. We also have a BS degree in Zoology, Botany, Conservation, as well as our BA in Biology. We have a Medical Technology degree and these are for students that will go on to become Medical Technologists working in hospital laboratories, and then a joint-degree program with Chemistry in Biotechnology.

Our undergraduates take a set of CORE courses in biology. The first semester freshman course is called Biological Diversity. Then we have Biological Foundations, Elements of Genetics, Organic Evolution, and Writing in Biology. Plus, any one of the following: Careers in Biology, Internship, Individual Investigation, or Senior Honors Thesis.

In the Careers in Biology class, students work with their instructor to explore different career options, learn about how to get internships, how to do interviews, writing resumes, and topics along those lines.

Our curriculum is designed to be completed in 4-years by full-time students. Coursework is provided on a schedule and with a frequency that provides easy access to all required courses. Plus, every semester, including the summer, we offer a variety of different electives that students can select from.

Our undergraduate courses have different components. Some of these are lectures. This is Room 101 Cunningham, our large lecture hall, and I am teaching a freshman level class in this photograph. Some of our classes also have field experience where students travel to local environments—streams, wetlands, and forests to collect samples for projects for their classes.

Other classes have laboratory components where students learn about DNA and genetics and learn microscopy and so on.

One of the things we emphasize is getting our undergraduates experience doing research. In the pictures Dr. Gail Fraizer, who is a cancer biologist, is working with one of our undergraduates. In our department, our undergraduates have the opportunity to participate in cutting-edge research with world-class investigators.

We also have some very active student organizations that are very active including the Zoology- Conservation Club which houses/has a collection of animals such as scorpions, snakes and lizards. We have an Environmental Group that studies the Cuyahoga River, called CRICK and then Pre-Professional clubs: for example, medical technology, pre-dentistry, pre-medicine, and pre-veterinary medicine.

We encourage our students to also do internships where they travel to hospitals, zoos, or other locations to get real hands-on experience. This photograph is one of our students’ doing an internship at an elephant sanctuary. In addition, we have arrangements with the Cuyahoga Valley National Park to provide internships exclusively for biology majors at Kent State.

In addition, we also have a course in Tropical Biology that travels to Costa Rica over winter break. The course is led by one of our faculty members, Dr. Oscar Rocha. Students visit a variety of environments and at each site conduct a small research project and then come back to campus to write up the results of those projects.

On this page, we show Dr. Rocha and students in his class in Costa Rica. In the bottom picture, they are seated in a banana plantation.

Each of our majors is assigned a faculty advisor. These advisors are assigned based on their area of expertise. We encourage our students to meet early and often with their advisor to talk about career planning, and course selection.

So, what’s next? I recommend that you go to the Admissions web page to find out more. You can sign up for a campus visit, take a virtual tour, and more.

Thanks for your attention.