Biological Sciences
Location: Ross Hall 2480
Telephone: 970.351.2921
Faculty: Rick Adams, Ph.D.; Chhandak Basu, Ph.D.; Lauryn Benedict, Ph.D.; Patrick Burns, Ph.D.; Gregory K. DeKrey, Ph.D.; Ginger Fisher, Ph.D.; Scott B. Franklin, Ph.D.; Catherine S. Gardiner, Ph.D.; Teresa M. Higgins, Ph.D.; Richard Robert Jurin, Ph.D.; Susan M. Keenan, Ph.D.; Judith Leatherman, Ph.D.; Stephen P. Mackessy, Ph.D.; Mitchell McGlaughlin, Ph.D.; Robert Reinsvold, Ph.D.; Tony Schountz, Ph.D.; Leah Sheridan, Ph.D.; Frank A. Skufca, M.S.; Mark P. Thomas, Ph.D.; Cindy White, Ph.D.
Emeritus Faculty : Warren R. Buss, Ph.D.; Margaret E. Heimbrook, Ph.D.; Kathleen S. Jones, Ph.D..; Charles E. Olmsted, III, Ph.D.; Gerald W. Saunders, Ph.D.
Course(s) Offered (Prefix):
Program(s) Offered:
Biological Sciences B.S.
Cell and Molecular Biology Emphasis
Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Emphasis
Pre-health and Biomedical Sciences Emphasis
Secondary Teaching Emphasis
Biological Sciences Minor
The biological sciences study all aspects of life from subcellular processes to planetary ecosystems. All undergraduate programs require a core of common courses to provide students with a solid foundation in the diversity and cellular basis of life, structure and function, heredity and development, and how organisms interact with each other and with their environment. Thereafter, students choose an area of emphasis that best suits their educational interests and goals. These emphasis areas are pre-health and biomedical science, cellular and molecular biology, ecology and evolutionary biology, and biology secondary teaching.
Students are encouraged to participate in independent research projects or internships with both faculty members and agencies outside the university to gain experience not available in the classroom. Practical application and hands-on experiences are supported with extensive support facilities including animal maintenance and greenhouse facilities, a microscopy and genomics imaging suite, a museum and herbarium, extensive state-of-the-art teaching and research laboratories, and other core biotechnology equipment.
Field studies are encouraged, because there is ready access to both prairie and mountain habitats. Expertise and research interests of the faculty include systematics of plants, animals and microorganisms; genetics and evolution; molecular and cellular biology; animal behavior; reproductive biology; neurobiology; computational biology; plant biotechnology; toxicology and pharmacology; immunology and infectious disease; ecology; community and ecosystem structure; mammalogy; ornithology; plant and mammalian physiology; anatomy; and science and environmental education.