USF Board of Trustees ( March 7, 2013)
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Agenda item: (to be completed by Board staff) USF Board of Trustees ( March 7, 2013) Issue: Proposed Ph.D. in Integrative Biology ________________________________________________________________ Proposed action: New Degree Program Approval ________________________________________________________________ Background information: This application for a new Ph.D is driven by a recent reorganization of the Department of Biology. The reorganization began in 2006 and was completed in 2009. The reorganization of the Department of Biology, in part, reflected the enormity of the biological sciences, and in part, different research perspectives and directions taken by the faculty in each of the respective areas of biology. Part of the reorganization was to replace the original Ph.D. in Biology with two new doctoral degrees that better serve the needs of the State and our current graduate students by enabling greater focus of the research performed to earn the Ph.D. The well-established and highly productive faculty attracts students to the Tampa Campus from all over the United States as well as from foreign countries. The resources to support the two Ph.D. programs have already been established in the Department of Biology and are sufficient to support the two new degree programs. The reorganization created two new departments; the Department of Cell Biology, Microbiology, and Molecular Biology (CMMB) and the Department of Integrative Biology (IB). This proposal addresses the creation of a new Ph.D., in Integrative Biology offered by the Department of Integrative Biology (CIP Code 26.1399). The name of the Department, Integrative Biology, reflects the belief that the study of biological processes and systems can best be accomplished by the incorporation of numerous integrated approaches Strategic Goal(s) Item Supports: The proposed program directly supports the following: Goal 1 and Goal 2 Workgroup Review: ACE March 7, 2013 Supporting Documentation: See Complete Proposal below Prepared by: Dr. Henry R. Mushinsky ([email protected]) Phone:813-974-5218 1 Board of Governors, State University System of Florida Request to Offer a New Degree Program University of South Florida Fall 2013 University Submitting Proposal Proposed Implementation Term Integrative Biology Arts and Sciences Name of College(s) or School(s) Name of Department(s)/ Division(s) Doctor of Philosophy Integrative Biology Academic Specialty or Field Complete Name of Degree 26.1399 Proposed CIP Code The submission of this proposal constitutes a commitment by the university that, if the proposal is approved, the necessary financial resources and the criteria for establishing new programs have been met prior to the initiation of the program. Date Approved by the University Board of President Date Trustees Signature of Chair, Board of Date Vice President for Academic Date Trustees Affairs Provide headcount (HC) and full-time equivalent (FTE) student estimates of majors for Years 1 through 5. HC and FTE estimates should be identical to those in Table 1 in Appendix A. Indicate the program costs for the first and the fifth years of implementation as shown in the appropriate columns in Table 2 in Appendix A. Calculate an Educational and General (E&G) cost per FTE for Years 1 and 5 (Total E&G divided by FTE). Projected Implementation Projected Program Costs Enrollment Timeframe (From Table 2) (From Table 1) E&G Contract E&G Auxiliary HC FTE Cost per & Grants Total Cost Funds Funds FTE Funds Year 1 35 26.25 $26,895 705,990 705,990 Year 2 40 30 Year 3 44 33 Year 4 48 36 Year 5 50 37.5 $19,764 741,145 741,145 Note: This outline and the questions pertaining to each section must be reproduced within the body of the proposal to ensure that all sections have been satisfactorily addressed. Tables 1 through 4 are to be included 2 as Appendix A and not reproduced within the body of the proposals because this often causes errors in the automatic calculations. INTRODUCTION Preface: This application for a new Ph.D is driven by two synergistic forces; a recent reorganization of the (former) Department of Biology and recognition that the field of biology has grown enormously since the Department of Biology was formed in the 1970’s. The reorganization created two new departments; the Department of Cell Biology, Microbiology, and Molecular Biology (CMMB) and the Department of Integrative Biology (IB). Each department is housed in a separate building and each has operated independently for the past seven years. The central mission of the Department of Integrative Biology focuses on the integration of morphological and physiological adaptations that facilitate the biological, ecological and evolutionary competency of organisms. All levels of organization are subjected to research, from molecules to ecosystems, and all forms of life are included from microbes to plants to animals. IB’s faculty members are engaged in research activities that involve, broadly, conservation biology, global change biology, freshwater biology and pollution, marine biology, biomechanics, disease biology, biogeochemistry, and evolutionary biology. Their research integrates our understanding of living things across all levels of organization. The central mission of the Department of Cell Biology, Molecular Biology and Microbiology focuses on the investigation of human diseases at the molecular and cellular level. This is broadly organized into three focus areas: Genome Integrity and Mechanisms of Aging; Bacterial Pathogenesis and Resistance; and Structural and Computational Biology. Specifically, faculty members in CMMB are engaged in research using model organisms that focus on neurodegenerative disorders, ageing related diseases, the immunological and genetic basis of diabetes, cancer development and progression, biosensing based detection of infectious agents in food and the environment, the pathogenesis of bacterial infection, antibiotic resistance and drug development and the immunology of host-pathogen interaction. Their research seeks to develop a better understanding of human disease causation and development, with the goal of uncovering new treatment options and drug targets. This proposal addresses the creation of a new Ph.D., in Integrative Biology offered by the Department of Integrative Biology (CIP Code 26.1399). The Ph.D. in Biology has been granted since the 1970’s. When the two new Ph.D. degress are in place the old Ph.D in Biology will be sunset. 3 . I. Program Description and Relationship to System-Level Goals A. Briefly describe within a few paragraphs the degree program under consideration, including (a) level; (b) emphases, including concentrations, tracks, or specializations; (c) total number of credit hours; and (d) overall purpose, including examples of employment or education opportunities that may be available to program graduates. Level: The proposed degree is the Ph.D. and is a graduate level degree. Emphases, including concentrations, tracks, or specializations: The Ph.D. program in Integrative Biology is built to facilitate research in three Areas of Concentration including Ecology and Evolution, Morphology and Physiology, and Environmental and Ecological Microbiology. These three areas of concentration also reflect the integrative nature of the research being conducted by members of the Department. Many of the students working within the Ecology and Evolution Area have interests in conservation biology and develop skills in molecular ecology to understand genetic relationships of the organismsthey study. Most students in the Ecology and Evolution area also become well-versed in Geographic Information System applications to study past and present distributions of the focal species. Students working within the Morphology and Physiology Area are performing research in functional and comparative morphology. Students working within the Environmental and Ecological Microbiology Area are becoming experts in identifying pollutants that contaminate the fresh water systems of Florida and beyond and are developing rapid methods of identifying the sources of those pollutants or may be studying microbes that play a major role in the global carbon cycle. A significant number of our students conduct research in areas that are considered “applied biology,” that is, their research is aimed at solving problems that benefit the State of Florida and beyond. Total number of credit hours: This degree requires 90 semester hours beyond the Bachelor’s Degree Overall purpose including examples of employment or education opportunities that may be available to program graduates: This degree is part of the broader area of academics known as STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math). The goal of the faculty is to cultivate scientists to advance our knowledge and understanding of the natural world. Our recent Ph.D. students have had great success finding professional positions directly after graduation or after gaining additional experience through post doctoral training. A few examples of the types of positions taken by recent graduates include; Research Scientist for the U.S. Geological Service in California, Post Doctoral Researcher at Pennsylvania State University, Post Doctoral Researcher at Harvard, faculty member at Allegheny College, faculty member at the University of Tampa, Fisheries Biologist for the State of Washington, and a Senior Ecologist for national 4 biological consulting firm. B. Describe how the proposed program is consistent with the current State University System (SUS) Strategic Planning