Faculty Service
The Department is well informed on issues because of participation on the CSUS Faculty Senate, the College's Academic Council, the College's Curriculum/Resource Committee, and the Department Chair's meetings.
The CSUS Faculty Senate is the organization that speaks for the faculty. Each department is represented by one (fewer than 24 full-time faculty members) or two (24 or more full-time faculty members) Faculty Senators. Each department is also allowed to have an Alternate Senator in case a regularly elected Senator cannot attend a meeting. Between 1996 and 2002 five faculty members have served as Senator or Alternate Senator. Our Faculty Senators diligently attend bi-weekly meetings and bring issues of concern to the Department for their input.
The Natural Science and Mathematics Academic Council is the organizational body of the College. The Council is composed of the Dean and Associate Dean, both of whom are Ex-officio members, a representative from each of the six departments in the College (Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Geology, Geography, Mathematics, Physics), five additional faculty members (GE/Interdisciplinary Studies, Laboratory/Field Studies, Computing/Technology, Science Education, at –large), a staff member form the College, and a student from the College. The Council meets bi-weekly to discuss issues of importance to the College and to formulate College policies. During the past six years the Chair of Biological Science has served as the Department's representative to the College. No other faculty member from Biological Sciences served on the Council during this period. The reason for the lack of representation from the Department was because all full-time faculty were in class during the scheduled times for Council meetings. Beginning in Fall 2002, the Department will be represented by the Chair and a junior faculty member who was elected as an at-large member.
The Department Chairs also meet bi-weekly with the Dean and Associate Dean of the College to discuss issues of concern at the department and University levels.
Biological Sciences faculty have rendered outstanding service to the Department, College, University, and Community since our last program review. All full-time faculty serve on one or more Department committees each academic year. A list of Department committees and their members for the 2001-02 academic year is provided in Appendix IV-8. In addition to serving on Department committees, faculty have generously volunteered their time to serve on search committees for full-time faculty, part-time faculty, technical staff, and clerical staff. Seven faculty have routinely served as course coordinators for the large multi-section lower division courses (BIO 5, 10, 11, 12, 20, 22, 25/26). All tenured faculty have served on the Department's Primary RTP Committee, and two faculty have chaired the Committee over the last six years. Five faculty have served as curators of the Vertebrate Ectotherm Museums, the Vertebrate Endotherm Museums, the entomology collection, the invertebrate collection, and the Department Herbarium.
Full-time faculty have rendered service to the College in a variety of ways. One faculty served as a member and as chair of the NSM Academic Council, and a member of the NSM Curriculum Resources Committee. One faculty has served as a member and chair of the College's Personnel (Secondary RTP) Committee. Three faculty served on the NSM Outstanding Teacher Selection Committee, and three faculty served on search committees for College Dean and Associate Dean. Five faculty have participated in organizing the Annual NSM College Retreat. Another faculty member has been a member and chair of the NSM Instructional Technology Committee. One faculty member served on a College group to examine courses taken by students in Liberal Studies and to recommend revisions and the development of new courses for students in the Liberal Studies Blended Program. One faculty hosted a visiting scholar for the College's Friday Forum which is devoted to teaching strategies and applications. Five faculty have served on the Biology, Geology, Geography Joint Motor Pool Committee which oversees the fleet of vehicles used primarily for field studies. Two faculty served on the 2002 NSM Graduation Committee charged with organizing the College's graduation which was held on campus for the first time in years. Presentations to the NSM Advisory Board have also been made by Department faculty. Faculty have also served as advisors to student groups in the Department (Student Chapter of the American Society for Microbiology [ASM], Field Biology Group [FBG], Student Association of Laboratory Scientists [SALS], and the Animal Rescue and Rehabilitation Group.
In addition to serving on College committees, faculty have participated in College activities in other ways. A Biological Sciences faculty member is the Director of the SEE Program whose goal is to recruit and retain students in the sciences from underrepresented groups and diverse backgrounds. The SEE Director overseas the Science Transfer Project (STP) whose goal is to ease articulation for students transferring from the Los Rios Community Colleges. Several Department faculty have conducted on campus summer workshops in biology for community college students who want to transfer to CSUS, while other faculty have served as mentors for community college students on summer research projects. Faculty have served as advisors to interdisciplinary student groups (Multicultural Organization of Science Students [MOSS], Pre-health Professional Student Group [PPSO], American Medical Student Association [AMSA]). Molecular and cellular biology faculty joined with biochemistry faculty to form MBIG. Organismal and bioconservation faculty have formed a working group with faculty in Chemistry, Geology and Geography to explore developing a Center for Regional and Environmental Technology.
Four faculty members have served as Department representative or alternate to the CSUS Faculty Senate; one faculty member has been Parliamentarian of that body. Faculty have served on program review teams for GE, Chemistry, Geology, Environmental Studies, Liberal Studies, Social Science, and Teacher Education. Faculty have also served as members or chairs of the following committees: Animal Care and Use, Environmental Health and Safety, Faculty Endowment Awards, GE Policies/Graduation Requirements, GE Course Review Subcommittee, HIV-AIDS Advisory Board, Internship Advisory Board, Radiation Safety, and Student Health Advisory Committee. Additionally, faculty have been CSUS Research and Creative Activities Proposal Review Panel members or chairs of panels. Faculty have worked closely with the Physical therapy Program by being members of the Physical therapy Curriculum Committee. Faculty have also represented the Department and University on the Moss Landing Marine Laboratory Advisory Board, the CSUPERB (California State University Program for Education and Research in Biotechnology) Governing Board (now Faculty Consensus Group), the CSUPERB Biodefense Task Force, the CSU Bioinformatics Curriculum Development Committee, and the North Valley and Mountain Biotechnology Center Advisory Board.
Biological Sciences faculty have provided service to the community in different ways. They have encouraged motivated sixth through eighth grade students to study science by participating in summer workshops through Academic Talent Search. They have encouraged young women to pursue careers in science and mathematics by participating in Expanding Your Horizons in Science and Mathematics conferences in the region. Additionally, Department faculty have developed and conducted local and regional Science Olympiad events for middle and high school students during the last six years. Department faculty are a resource for teachers in the community. Through course service learning components, faculty and students have interfaced with teachers and middle school and high school students in the community. They have participated in teacher in-service activities of the CSUS Center for Mathematics and Science Education (formerly SCATS) and have volunteered their time to work with teachers on the teaching of biology or to help them in their classrooms. The Explorit Science Center in Davis has benefited from faculty expertise in fund-raising events. Faculty have also contributed their expertise to the community by answering questions on organisms and through news media interviews on pathogenic microorganisms and bioterrorism.
