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BIOLOGY
BIOLOGY Chairperson
Steven A. Mauro, Ph.D
comprehensive curriculum. This includes instruction and laboratory experience in each of the principal areas within biology and supporting coursework in mathematics, physics, and chemistry. Our program is designed to provide majors with the means to secure fulfilling employment or continue their education at the graduate and professional level. Beyond the basic but substantive curriculum, several specialized programs are available within the Department of Biology. The department’s newest specialized program is the Sustainability Studies concentration. This program has been developed in tandem with similar concentrations in other major departments and is foundational to the college’s commitment to advance undergraduate programs that will produce responsible citizens and leaders to address environmental problems such as climate change.
FACULTY Professors: John M. Campbell, Ph.D.; David C. Hyland, Ph.D. Associate Professors: Marlene Cross, Ph.D.; Larry P. Gauriloff, Ph.D.; Steven A. Mauro, Ph.D. Assistant Professors: Michael A. Elnitsky, Ph.D. Instructors: Summer Ekelund-Weaver, M.A.; Sarah L. Bennett, M.S. Adjunct Professors: Natalie Waddell-Rutter, M.S. Adjunct Professor, Laboratory Director and Research Associate: Darlene Melchitzky, M.S. Biology is the scientific study of life in all its astonishing forms from its origins some 4 billion years ago to the present day. This experimental science involves an examination of life on multiple scales from the molecular to the global. Though difficult to define, the study of life rests upon two fundamental notions. The first is that living systems operate via basic thermodynamic and kinetic principles. Such principles are embodied in the study of physics and chemistry. The second is the unifying concept of evolution, the most original and important idea of the modern era. Given these principles and great time depth, life has generated immense and complex diversity. Biologists strive to understand and manage this diversity by examining the genetic history and special features of each species as well as the interactions between each species and its environment. On a more applicable level, biologists are concerned with the impact humans have had and continue to have upon the environment and how, in turn, the environment affects our own quality of life. Additionally, new discoveries in biology, particularly those related to health and medicine, often have social, political, economic, and ethical implications. Biology provides both the knowledge and the tools required to understand these complex problems and challenges. The primary goal of the Department of Biology is to provide thorough and basic training in the broad field of biology through a forward-looking and
In support of Sustainability Studies and other departmental offerings, the biology department manages two major natural areas owned by the college within the Pennsylvania Lake Erie watershed. The Jean B. and J. Douglas James Ecological & Wildlife Preserve is a 35-acre property that features a wide variety of forest and wetland habitats and is part of a larger community greenway adjacent to the Asbury Woods Nature Center. The Mary Jo and Ed Maier Field Station is a 17-acre property located in the valley of Elk Creek near Girard, PA. This locale contains a mature bottomland forest and channel wetlands within the floodplain of the stream. The Biology Department is also leading an effort to develop a college garden and renewable energy research facility at a college-owned farm in Girard, Pa. The farm features a new greenhouse, demonstrations of best management practices for erosion control and soil/water conservation, soil restoration research plots, and ongoing experimental projects in sustainable food production systems. These sites are utilized for student research and field trips in several biology courses. The department is a full member and active participant in the Regional Science Consortium, a collaborative, non-profit organization that focuses on and coordinates educational and research projects for Lake Erie and the upper Ohio River Basin. The consortium offers college courses and research opportunities to students from more than a dozen regional colleges and universities at the Tom Ridge Environmental Center, located near the entrance to Presque Isle State Park in Erie. Consortium facilities available to Mercyhurst biology students include well-equipped research and teaching laboratories, classrooms, a greenhouse, natural history collections, sampling equipment, and research vessels. Mercyhurst College is a member (chapter Upsilon Pi) of Beta Beta Beta (TriBeta), a national honor and professional society for students dedicated to improving the understanding and appreciation of biological study and extending boundaries of human knowledge through scientific research. Mercyhurst students who aspire to teach biology at the secondary level can now earn a Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology, a
BIOLOGY Master of Science degree in Secondary Education, and become certified to teach grades 7 through 12, in a total of five years. This specialized fiveyear Bachelor in Biology plus Master in Secondary Education program saves the student both time and money. Students complete the master degree in only one year instead of the usual two years, save an entire year’s worth of tuition costs, and can enter the job market a year sooner at an advanced level. In the health professions, the department offers a variety of programs. Each includes preparatory course work necessary to apply to Pharmacy, Medical, Veterinary, Physician Assistant, and Dental schools, among others. The department also offers a concentration in Medical Technology jointly administered and taught by the St. Vincent Health Center. To increase opportunities for students interested in the health professions, the college has cooperative agreements with a number of professional medical schools. Students in these programs - which feature an accelerated transition to professional school - have the option of attending Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine to obtain a doctoral degree in Osteopathic Medicine or Pharmacy, the Ohio College of Podiatric Medicine to pursue a doctoral degree in Podiatric Medicine, or the New York Chiropractic College to complete a doctoral degree in Chiropractic Medicine. Each of these programs allows the student to transition into a doctoral program at the end of the third year at Mercyhurst College. This permits an accelerated completion of requirements leading to a bachelor’s degree in biology and a doctoral degree in the program of interest. For students interested in neurobiology we offer a Neuroscience Concentration as an interdisciplinary program administered in conjunction with the Psychology Department. This program of study relates behavior to bodily processes, especially the workings of the brain. The main goal of this area of study is to understand behavior and experience in terms of biological substrates. Like the other sciences, neuroscience is ultimately concerned wiwth improving human condition.
ADVISING
Great college education depends upon human relationships and good advising is central to creating a positive educational environment for the student. Upon enrollment in the department an advisor is assigned to the student. Special faculty advisors are available for students in specific career alternatives including medicine and other health professions, secondary education and any of the concentrations offered by the department. In addition, for pre-health students, the College has an Office of Pre-Health Professions and a six-member advisory committee. These advisors assist the student with course selection, keep student records, monitor student achievements, and guide students through the application process to graduate and professional schools.
2011-2012 Mercyhurst College Course Catalog • www.mercyhurst.edu