Resources for the Biology Major

Science, and BIOLOGY in particular, continue to dominate the news. Infectious diseases such as bird flu remain a threat. It may take only one or two more mutations to allow bird flu to effectively spread between people, opening the way for a major, global pandemic. An early warning system was set up last year to monitor migrating birds in Alaska and the Aleutians. And the feds issued a major flu preparedness plan. Still, we can’t forget that old enemies like tuberculosis and malaria kill millions worldwide. Thousands of children die each day in Africa and other poverty stricken areas from easily preventable diseases. About 40 million people are infected with HIV, with epidemics raging in Africa and Asia. In some countries, about 40% of the adult population is infected, threatening entire economies! On another front, obesity remained in the news this year, e.g. as it applies to women’s health. Now even infants become overweight! You can see why public health is a growth industry, with LOTS of career opportunities available.
There’s good news for Monarch Flutterbye enthusiasts. This year’s population is robust, with numbers not seen in years. The spring migration out of Mexico was great, and numbers kept growing all summer as successive populations made their way north. The only fly in the ointment is the persistent drought in America’s heartland, which makes for poor flower production and therefore a potential famine viz. nectar. Elsewhere on the environment front, Hurricane Katrina and now the Middle East war wrought considerable damage to earth and sea. Back on a positive note, an manatee was sighted in New York’s Hudson River for the first time in many years.

The embryonic stem cell controversy still rages, as Pres. Bush vetoed a bill that would have liberalized sources of new cells. Still, scientists keep going – in this country with state and private funds, and abroad with the full blessings of national governments.

Sadly, the so-called controversy over evilution rages on as well. Still, creationists suffered two major setbacks this past year. A federal judge in Pennsylvania ruled that the Dover PA school district’s attempt to introduce ‘intelligent design’ into the science classroom was patently unconstitutional. It violated the Separation Clause of the First Amendment according to all accepted legal standards. Judge John E. Jones’ ruling was comprehensive, informed and devastatingly critical. You can access a pdf of the full decision at www2.ncseweb.org/wp/?p=98. Click on the highlighted link. Recently, voters in Kansas swung the majority on the state board of education away from supporters of intelligent design back to those in favor of science. It was a primary election by party, but a pro-evolution board is guaranteed regardless of how the general election turns out in November. The proposed anti-evolution standards adopted several months ago by the board will probably be dropped after the November election.

Speaking of evilution, more and more data flowed in this past year, especially at the gene level, and in humans. Scientists recently documented evidence of widespread natural selection in the human genome.

Steroids are in the news: just recently, tests indicated that Tour de France winner Floyd Landis may have cheated. The tests found elevated levels of testosterone. Landis is contesting the ruling, but together with ongoing investigations and publicity surrounding other athletes like Barry Bonds, the issue won’t go away quickly. As biologists, why not take the opportunity to find out more about how steroids work. Elsewhere on the medical front, lots of controversy arose this year over publishing ethics in medical journals and questionable links between physicians, researchers and drug companies.

Scientists are more convinced than ever about the reality of global warming. The data are monumental in scope and include lots of observations on biological effects. Recently, concern has surrounded the fate of polar bears, which risk drowning en mass in melting polar ice.

Lastly, the nation took a beautiful horse into its collective heart when Barbaro broke his leg during The Preakness. We learned about the nature of his injury, followed his recovery, were saddened at his setback, and thrilled to his rally. Pre-vet BIO majors took particular interest in this story. You can keep up with Barbaro’s condition at:
www.vet.upenn.edu/newsandevents/news/Barbaro_Updates.htm

It’s an exciting time to be in biology and science in general. We hope that what you learn here will give you insight into very important and contemporary issues of biological import, and that you pass on those informed perspectives to friends, relatives and the community at large. Your informed opinion can make a difference in how the public perceives issues like stem cell research, biotechnology and evolution.

To help keep you informed, we regularly send out to our listserve members a News Digest of media articles of contemporary interest. Stay informed! It’s your duty as a citizen of a democratic country.

Mr. Joey Freeman, in the BIO office, provides assistance to Biology majors in all aspects of careers including career options, developing strong self-knowledge for career choice, and job search strategies and techniques including correspondence and interviewing. While assisting students in resume preparation, he helps students develop a good "Tell me about yourself" statement based upon solid self-understanding of skills, knowledge and personal characteristics. He is skilled in helping Biology majors analyzing all aspects of the University experience for patterns of strengths that are clues to career options that may not be obvious. In addition, he has amassed a significant amount of information on life science research at UGA. This information is helpful for students seeking research opportunities in specialties ranging from Alzheimers to Vision. He also fills in when Ms. Palevitz is away.

Mr. Freeman is generally in the office daily from 11:30-3:30. His phone number is 542-8794. You can check out Joey’s informative pages on the BIO website, www.biosci.uga.edu/almanac/biomajor/index.html. We update the website often, with new information relevant to the BIO major and material on BIO courses. Information is also be posted on bulletin boards in the vicinity of room 411 BioSciences.

NEWS FOR BIOLOGY MAJORS

Senior Reception:
Last year’s highlights included our spring reception for graduating BIO majors. The reception was bigger and better than ever. In fact, it was SO BIG, we had an overflow crowd at the Tate Theater. We’ll have to find a larger venue for the spring 2007 event! And this was only the second time we had it at Tate! Honored guests included Vice President for Instruction Delmer Dunn. Philip Lee Williams, science writer and public information officer for the Franklin College was our guest speaker. Phil gave an incredible talk why a degree in biology and familiarity with the scientific process is so important now. Parents, faculty and staff enjoyed good cheer in the form of conversation and refreshments as we honored our graduates. At the end of the reception, we showed a nostalgic video about the university and Athens scene.

The BIO program received wonderful recognition from the college when Ms. Francine Palevitz, who heads up the majors desk in room 411 Bioscience received the OUTSTANDING STAFF ADVISOR OF THE YEAR AWARD in May. Yours truly, Barry Palevitz, got the same award for faculty advising. Again, we’re very proud of our program.

The MCAT is changing, as many of you know. The next exam on 8/19 will be the last in its present format. Thereafter the exam will be constructed differently and will be offered more often.

Seniors:
Many of you will soon be asking professors and others to write letters of recommendation for you to med, dent, pharm, grad school, etc. Afterwards, in the spring, please don't regard the process as over. You owe it to the people who took the time to support you to get back to them about what happened to those recs. Please contact them again and inform them about your plans once they're finalized. Tell them if you got into a pre-professional program, and even if you didn't, thank them for their efforts on your behalf. It's the courteous thing to do, and besides, you never know if and when you'll need another letter of recommendation from them, e.g. if you re-apply. You should also consider staying in touch with letter writers over the years. They are only an e-mail message away.

Master of Public Health:
UGA has a new graduate program, Master of Public Health. It’s a career path many of you might like to consider. See www.biomed.uga.edu for more information. This summer, two grads received Masters of Public Health degrees. Remember: PUBLIC HEALTH IS A GROWTH INDUSTRY AND THEREFORE A PRIME CAREER PATH!

Multicultural Requirement:
Be aware that the Franklin College’s MULTICULTURAL REQUIREMENT IS DIFFERENT FROM THE UNIVERSITY’S CULTURAL DIVERSITY REQUIREMENT. Courses differ for the two. However, if you satisfy the college’s requirement, you also satisfy the university’s requirement.

Advising Appointments:
Remember to check with Ms. Palevitz in the BIO office not long after the semester begins about when to sign up for an advising appointment. A notice will be posted on the web page, and additional notices will be placed in the lobby of the BioSciences Building. Ms. Palevitz also posts notices, e.g. about making advising appointments, on the BIO majors e-mail listserve. If you’re not on it yet, contact her. Even if you’re only thinking about being a BIO major, we’ll be happy to sign you up. And puhleeeze, if you don’t want e-mail, don’t sign up. If you do sign up, don’t complain when we send information to help your classmates! We try to keep e-mail traffic down to a minimum, but after all, this is an informational service to students, and that means we send messages. Lastly, DO NOT use this service for personal reasons, e.g. selling football tickets, subleasing your apartment, or selling textbooks. Thanks.

Research:
Several faculty members used the BIO e-mail list serve to advertise for research positions in their labs this past year. They were very satisfied with the quality of our majors. Please consider doing research; that’s the best way to learn about science and how it’s done.

The best way to start is to get to know your professors by asking them questions about their work, and reading their personal webpage. You can also find other faculty that way whose interests excite you. Undergraduate research as BIOL 4960 or 4960H can be used to satisfy requirements for the BIO major, such as the intensive lab. It’s also the best way to learn how science is really done, and to scope out whether research (and that means graduate school) is a viable career option for you.

Remember: do it because research interests you and you want the experience, not because you want to pad your resume’. See Ms. Palevitz in room 411 for more information about our requirements for BIOL 4960/H. STARTING THIS FALL, you MUST see Ms. Palevitz ahead of time if you want to do BIOL 4960 or 4960H, e.g. in conjunction with the STAR program. Reminder: WE NO LONGER ENTERTAIN 4960 REQUESTS AFTER DROP/ADD.

Special Programs:
INTERNSHIP IN BIOLOGY: Our internship course is a big success. BIOL 4940/4940H covers supervised work experience with public agencies, private industry, mass media or non-profit organizations in the area of the biological sciences. You can take it for 3 credit hours, repeatable for a maximum 6 hours. It will NOT count towards credit for the BIOL major, but will count towards general electives and the Regents 39 hour rule. The prerequisites are BIOL 1107 and 1108, at least one advanced biology course required for the major, and permission of the BIO program. See Ms. Palevitz in room 411 for more information. Once again, you MUST see Ms. Palevitz ahead of time if you want to do an internship. Again, WE NO LONGER ENTERTAIN INTERNSHIP REQUESTS AFTER DROP/ADD.

READING RECOMMENDATIONS:
I always encourage students to read books, magazines, newspapers, etc. Ed Larson, from our own History Department, authored ‘Evolution’s Workshop’, which chronicles the history of the Galapagos Islands in scientific research. It’s a great read. Barbara Kingsolver’s novel ‘Prodigal Summer’ is a magical tour through the lives of people in a southern Appalachian town, and incorporates poetic and informative insights into nature and ecology. ‘Galileo’s Daughter’ by Dava Sobel chronicles the tribulations of Galileo with the church, interweaving the narrative with correspondence from his daughter, a cloistered nun. You might also try a classic, Ira Levin’s ‘Boys From Brazil’, one of the first books to realistically use human cloning as a theme. It even has a fictional discussion with a developmental biologist about cloning. The book was written in the ‘70s, long before mammalian cloning became a reality.

IT’S A GOOD IDEA TO READ NEWSPAPERS AND MAGAZINES REGULARLY FOR NEWS ABOUT BIOLOGY AND SCIENCE IN GENERAL. We regularly send out a News Digest of recent articles of interest over the BIO listserve. Don’t complain about them; if you don’t want to read them, simply ‘DELETE’; others are interested. See below for more suggestions.

Reminders:

Advising:
Make advising appointments EARLY. Ms. Palevitz will let you know a few weeks into the semester about when she will start signups for appointments. She notifies BIO majors via our e-mail list serve, as well as with flyers in the Biosciences lobby. Again, IF YOU ARE NOT ON THE LISTSERVE, see Ms. Palevitz in room 411.

Graduation:
Seniors: you must do a GRADUATION CHECK at least one semester before you graduate. You will probably receive a reminder from the college, so make sure to tell your advisor that you need a graduation check. You cannot graduate without being certified. If you have any questions, contact your advisor or the graduation certification officer in the College of Arts and Sciences, New College, North Campus. A certification officer in New College handles graduation certification for BIO majors. Note: grad check appointments can now be made online. In some cases, if your advisor has allowed special courses to count towards the major (e.g. transfer courses), you will have to bring an approved copy of our checksheet to the Graduation Office in New College.

Seniors: Please fill out one of our exit questionaires and return it to Ms. Palevitz. The questionnaires are available in room 411. They enable us to evaluate our program and keep track of your plans. Please take just a few minutes of your time to help us improve our services to students.

We will again host a reception for our spring and summer graduating BIO majors. Please see Ms. Palevitz to find out more about the reception and what you need to do to attend. Make sure she has your latest address and telephone/e-mail information. If you are graduating next summer, you’re welcome to take part in the spring reception.

BSSA, AMSA and PrePA CLUBS:
BIO is proud to sponsor three student organizations, the Biological Sciences Student Association (BSSA), a chapter of the American Medical Student Association (AMSA), and a new Pre-Physician’s Assistant Club. The groups will be active during the year with a variety of informative and entertaining programs. We encourage BIO majors to get involved. It will help you meet faculty, network with scientists and health professionals and give you leadership experience. The three organizations have bulletin board space near room 404E Biosciences. Inquire in room 411 for more information. They’re looking for active, motivated students.

Check sheets and Program of Study:
We supply check sheets for semester system students (those who matriculated at ANY college or university fall 1996 or later) as well as revised check sheets for any remaining quarter system students with the old BIO requirements translated into semester courses. Pick one up in room 411 Biosciences. We also will have the check sheets listed on the BIO website. We have tried to encapsulate as much important information as possible into the check sheets to make planning your program as painless as possible. Please study the new check sheets, and if you have any questions, contact us. Remaining quarter system students should be aware that certain courses (e.g. in statistics) are no longer available, so alternatives must be selected. Those alternatives are listed on the revised check sheet.

In collaboration with Franklin College, we have prepared a sample four year program of study for BIO majors. Pick one up in room 411 Biosciences. Remember, it is only a SAMPLE; there are other ways to arrange a program, in consultation with your advisor.

Note that we have a hotlink to College, core and multicultural requirements on the BIO website. Just click on ‘Other Requirements’.

Health Professions:
Those of you interested in medicine, dentistry and other health professions should check in with the Health Professions Advising Office in Memorial Hall. The office is headed by Dr. Alan Langford.

All students interested in a career in the health professions should contact the Health Professions Advising Office and make arrangements to attend one of their orientation seminars, which are offered several times a year. You must attend a seminar before making a personal appointment. Students interested in veterinary medicine can get information from the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs of the Veterinary School.

Constitution and History Exams:
To provide as much flexibility as possible in your programs of study, we encourage students to use qualifying exams to satisfy the Regents’ American History and U.S./Georgia Constitution requirements instead of taking courses. The Constitution exams can now be taken twice before resorting to POLS 1101, while there is no limit on repeats for the history exam. Talk to the History and Political Science departments for more information. However, you must remember that Franklin College requires each student to have at least one history course for graduation. It doesn’t have to be American history, though taking HIST 2111 or 2112 will also satisfy the Regents requirement.

39 Hour Rule:
Semester System Students: Remember, you must complete at least 39 semester hours at the 3000 level or higher in order to graduate. Since the BIO major usually comes to 30-33 hours, that leaves 6-9 additional hours of 3000 level courses required to graduate. You can obtain those hours in a number of ways. For example, you can use a 3000 level course to fulfill the multicultural requirement. Consult the list of eligible multicultural courses for one with minimal or no prerequisites, such as FDNS 3000, HORT 3440 or 3300, and CBIO 3100. You can also consider upper division courses for which you have already fulfilled prerequisites as part of the Core Curriculum. Thus, you can take an advanced psychology, sociology or anthropology course (e.g. Psychology of Health or Sociology of Medicine). You can also use additional research hours in BIOL 4960/4960H beyond the 4 credits allowed for the Biology degree. Or, you can take additional research under another department prefix/number, once you have completed BIOL 4960. You can also take BIOL 3900 as a directed readings course with an eligible biological sciences professor of your choice. While BIOL 3900 does not qualify for credit towards the BIO major, it can be used to satisfy the Regents 39 hour rule.

Other Sources of Information:
Franklin College has a lot of useful information about semester conversion, core requirements, the multicultural requirement, environmental literacy requirement, the 39 hour rule, etc on its website (www.franklin.uga.edu/). Likewise, the University’s guide to undergraduate and graduate programs is also online at (http://www.uga.edu/academics/programs.html). The site has lots of information on courses, prerequisites, etc.

IT ISN’T EASY...
The biological sciences is a demanding discipline, and any career based on it is equally demanding. We live in an age of rapid progress in all areas of biology. Information on everything from disease to genome sequencing to conservation ecology is arriving by the bushel and by the minute. And that information is increasingly quantitative, complex and even abstract. New discoveries also present us with difficult decisions about genetic testing, release of transgenic organisms, stem cells, preservation of habitat, environmental degradation and a host of other issues, all of which require serious consideration of complex data and a variety of opinions. In other words, if you want to be a BIO major and go on to a career in the discipline, get used to dealing with difficult subjects entailing a lot of study. And get used to it from your first course in biology. You have no other choice. There is NO easy way to do it. Besides, the competition is stiff for admission to professional schools and for jobs. Others will be doing their homework, so you had better do it too. Taking shortcuts now will mean disaster later. If you think BIOL 1107/1108 or BIOL 3400 is hard, try the first year of med school!!

There are things you can do and habits you can form at an early stage in your UGA career that will make your life as a BIO major easier. For one thing, get used to studying. Make up your mind to read assignments BEFORE coming to lecture, so material you hear in lecture will be more meaningful. Then, that evening, review your reading in the context of your lecture notes. DO NOT WAIT until a day or two before the exam to read your assignments. It’s impossible to absorb all that material in so short a time! Even if you do, you’ll lose it all in a matter of weeks. Second, do ACTIVE, not passive, learning. Don’t just read the book. Stop every so often and ask yourself questions about the reading material and lecture and write out your answers. Try to place something you just read in the context of a previous concept, page or chapter. If you have a friend in class, get together regularly to discuss the material and bounce questions off each other. For more tips about active learning, take a look at the following informative website
(www.plantbio.uga.edu/~darley/studybio.html).

Third, ATTENDANCE MATTERS! Really. No B.S. (I don’t mean Bachelor of Science). In recent years, we conducted separate experiments in which students in attendance on random days, in separate introductory courses, were asked to sign an attendance sheet. The final course grades of those students were then compared to the class as a whole. The students in class on the sample days did a full half point GPA HIGHER in the courses.

That half point often translates into a whole letter grade! It may seem fashionable and cool not to come to class, but IT ISN’T SMART. Don’t let others tell you otherwise. Besides, professors appreciate students who are there all the time. Regular attendance is also important in getting to know the professor and vice versa. The prof will probably remember better when you ask for a letter of recommendation a year or two later!

BE CURIOUS!
One of the best ingredients for academic success is curiosity; in other words, a natural desire to learn. Let me tell you a true story: Not long ago, an ex-student overheard a conversation I had with an advisor in Arts and Sciences about the advantages of a liberal arts education. The student had graduated with a degree in another college, and was back in school taking all of the courses he now realized he should have taken while he was here but was too myopic to do so. He had been out in the business world and realized how much he had missed, and how much he was handicapped career-wise by his narrow education. He urged us to encourage students to take an enlightened, liberal view of learning; i.e., learning for learning’s sake. We urge the same thing, especially as it relates to biology. Take advantage of the BLC. In many cases your instructors will use the BLC to post information, readings, videos, old exams, and other material relevant to your courses. However, you can use the BLC to learn in other ways, in a relaxed manner. For example, use the BLC (or your home computer) to browse the WorldWide Web using key science words. There are numerous web sites that will give you lots of information about everything from Arabidopsis to evolution to potential life on Mars. You can browse the NY Times (www.nytimes.com) for science articles, especially on Tuesday when it features ‘Science Times’ pages. The Times has lots of interesting articles on major advancements in science. Other major newspapers, like the Boston Globe and Atlanta Journal-Constitution, regularly feature science stories, the latter particularly on Sundays. Likewise, ABCNews.com has a web page that features science stories. When you read, stop and ask yourself how the information relates to something you learned in a course. Make a list of questions to pursue elsewhere, such as your biochemistry, genetics or microbiology textbook. If you hear or read about the presence of transgenic corn in taco chips and want to know if it will really hurt you, research the subject on the internet. And don’t hesitate to seek out a faculty member expert in the area of interest. Individual departments list their faculty in brochures or on Worldwide Web pages. We have an incredibly diverse, talented faculty in the biological sciences, and most welcome inquiries from interested students!

You can also spend free time in the Science Library reading weekly issues of Science and Nature, which have cutting edge research articles as well as informative, well written perspective pieces and news about current developments in science. It’s a good idea to set aside a specific hour or so for this each week, so it becomes routine. You might also consider subscribing to Science or Nature, which have special student rates. Any recent issue has a subscription card. Both Nature and Science have web sites, with more limited coverage of each issue (www.nature.com, and http://science-mag.aaas.org/science). Discover Magazine also has a web site: www.enews.com/magazines/discover. These are all good ways to help stay “literate” in biology, and science in general.

Of course, don’t stop at science. Take the time to think about all sorts of subjects and issues. After all, science impinges on just about every aspect of our lives. You might want to start writing your opinions in the form of short essays in a personal journal (which will also help hone your writing skills), and/or meeting with your friends regularly to talk things over. Do it. In other words, cultivate CURIOSITY and an appreciation for lifelong learning, without prompting by exams, term papers, and other course requirements. Read, because it’s fun to learn, and because it makes you a better informed, more flexible person, which will pay dividends in the future!

HONE YOUR WRITING SKILLS
Communication skills are important to employers. As science becomes more technical and complex, companies look for people who can effectively communicate research results to financial analysts, stockholders and the general public. With increasing importance of the Internet as a communication medium, good writing is even more advantageous. Perusal of employment ads in Science magazine recently turned up repeated mention of writing/communication skills. So, take advantage of your years at UGA to hone those skills. Take courses offered through various departments that provide opportunities to write. The Franklin College has a Writing Intensive Program featuring a variety of courses that emphasize writing skills (http://parallel.park.uga.edu/~mballif/writing.html). Keep a personal journal in which you write down reflections and opinions about current issues and questions. Use active study techniques in which you pose questions to yourself about course material, and write out the answers. Consider writing letters to the editor of newspapers or short articles for newsletters about science, hobbies, or whatever interests you. In other words, take every opportunity to WRITE.

Here’s a very practical side of writing well: the federal government sponsored a program this summer in Hollywood for scientists who would like to be screenwriters! The goal is to cultivate scientists who can accurately portray the facts and process of science in an interesting way for films, television and the stage.

Other things we encourage.....

NON-RESIDENT CREDIT

Our NON-RESIDENT CREDIT PROGRAM encourages majors to take advanced biology courses at other institutions. We think it’s a good idea for students to broaden their knowledge and experience by taking advantage of advanced courses offered at other universities, field stations, marine laboratories, etc. We have a bulletin board describing eligible non-resident programs around the country. The board is located across the hall from room 411 Biosciences. If you’re interested in studying in another country, consult UGA’s study abroad office for more information. You can also consult Butler University’s website, www.ifsa-butler.org. Butler conducts programs in places from Europe to Australia. And don’t forget to ask your BIO advisor AHEAD OF TIME about courses you can take elsewhere to make sure they conform to our requirements.

INTERNSHIPS
We encourage students to do internships. BIOL 4940/4940H covers supervised work experience with public agencies, private industry, mass media or non-profit organizations in the area of the biological sciences. You can take it for 3 credit hours, repeatable for a maximum 6 hours. It will NOT count towards credit for the BIOL major, but will count towards general electives and the Regents 39 hour rule. The prerequisites are BIOL 1107 and 1108, at least one advanced biology course required for the major and permission of the BIO program. See Ms. Palevitz in room 411 for more information. As with research, YOU MUST MAKE THESE ARRANGEMENTS IN ADVANCE OF THE SEMESTER YOU PLAN ON DOING AN INTERNSHIP. WE WILL NOT ENTERTAIN PETITIONS FOR LATE REGISTRATION.

CAREER PLANNING
BIO makes additional resources available to assist our majors in career planning. Joey Freeman in room 411 BioSciences advises students on careers in biology. He also has a page on the BIO website (www.biosci.uga.edu/careers/index.html). We also have a bulletin board outside the BLC upon which we post useful information. Take a look.

RESEARCH SEMINARS
A good way to learn more about the most recent developments in biology, and how science is actually done, is to attend research seminars. Seminars allow you to learn in a more informal, ‘no -test’ atmosphere. They also provide the opportunity to meet faculty and staff in a relaxed way, and get important information on interesting projects and labs for undergraduate research. The various departments in the Biological Sciences Division offer a rich variety of seminars. Seminars are scheduled at various times, every day of the week. The most frequently used times are at noon, and from 3:00 to 5:00. Notices of seminars are located in the Biosciences lobby, through member departments in the Division of Biological Sciences, and are posted on the BIO website.

Don’t feel intimidated about going to seminars. Remember, most of the people there don’t know what the speaker is going to say. In fact, many of them don’t have a clue about the subject!! But, like you, they are all there to learn.

GET TO KNOW THE FACULTY!
Another good tip as you begin the year is to get to know the BIO faculty. You can find out about your professors before classes begin by consulting their personal web pages. Just search under their names on the UGA website or a browser such as google.com. Don’t hesitate to ask questions about subjects covered in class. See the professor after class if you are curious about something (s)he covered. Take advantage of office hours. Office hours are not just to complain about grades; faculty make themselves available after class to help you with the material! Ask your teachers about their research interests. Remember, the faculty are a resource outside of formal instruction time. Getting to know faculty can provide informal learning experiences, lead to laboratory research opportunities which satisfy the BIO major lab requirement, and provide for more INFORMED LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION for professional schools. You might be surprised at how many students come to see professors in their senior year asking for letters of recommendation, when the professor’s sole knowledge of the student is a grade in an intro course two years earlier! That professor has little to write on the recommendation form, other than the grade. BE SMART! Avoid this problem by getting to know your professors. Squeaky doors get the grease, as the saying goes. Don’t listen to anyone who tells you it isn’t cool to talk to professors.

Tips on how to approach and engage faculty

While we encourage you to engage faculty in and out of the classroom, it’s important to do so with proper etiquette and respect. Faculty want to help, but they also want to be treated in a manner commensurate with their positions. Here are some tips:

1. Always remember that faculty at this university worked long and hard to get where they are today. Most have earned doctorates in various disciplines. When you meet them for the first time,
e-mail them or use the telephone, address them as Professor or Dr. It’s a matter of R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Mr. or Ms. is acceptable, but a distant second choice. Lab or teaching assistants probably go by Mr. or Ms.
2. A faculty member’s experience also means they are OLDER THAN YOU. That’s another reason for respect on your part. Don’t use ‘HEY’ or ‘DOC’, either in person or e-mail.
3. If you have never met a faculty member, or you don’t have express permission to do so, do not address them by their first name!!!!! They’re not your buddies, sorority/fraternity sisters/brothers or lab partners. They’re faculty!!! Get used to this sort of RESPECT, because if you address somebody by first name on a job or professional school interview they just might show you the door! No job, no paycheck, no admission. In other words, act grown up.
4. If you call faculty on the telephone, introduce yourself first, before asking a question. Don’t get on the phone by saying, ‘hey, can you tell me….’. Instead, say ‘hello, this is Jane Doe, a Biology major (your advisee) and I wonder if you could help me’. It’s called being POLITE. Another good descriptor: GOOD MANNERS.
5. Before the start of each semester, find out who’s teaching your courses, then search them on the UGA website. Find out who they are, their interests and background etc., so they’re at least partially familiar to you when they show up for class the first day. And by all means, KNOW THEIR NAMES AFTER THE FIRST WEEK OF CLASS!!
6. When you’re in class, don’t fall azzzzleep, especially if you’re sitting up front. It’s R-U-D-E. If you insist on partying the night before lecture, sleep in or dose up on jo before class. If you think you’re here to habitually party to the extent you always fall asleep in class or come hung over, consider getting professional counseling or going elsewhere to school
7. If you can’t keep an appointment with a faculty member or your advisor, it’s polite to contact them beforehand, or as soon afterward as possible, to apologize and arrange for an alternate appointment. DON’T JUST BLOW THEM OFF! And you’d better have a good reason for not showing up. If the appointment was important enough to make, it’s important enough to remember! Oversleeping, or simply forgetting, doesn’t cut it. If you’re so busy you might not remember an appointment, arrange to have somebody remind you. When Ms. Palevitz gives you an appointment slip to see an advisor, put it in a safe place. Just before going to your appointment, look at the slip again to make sure you’re going to the right place! Your advisor’s office is probably NOT in the Biosciences building. Remember, the time faculty reserve for you could be devoted to another student who needs attention, so make sure ‘your ducks are in a row’ and you arrive on time.
8 If you contact a professor or advisor by e-mail with a question, MAKE SURE TO CHECK YOUR E-MAIL PROMPTLY FOR THE REPLY. If your further input is needed, respond right away. Respond, even if only to say THANKS. Don’t ask a prof for help, then wait a week to get back to her/him after s/he helps out. Of course, we can’t guarantee the faculty member will respond promptly, but most do. I can assure you, it’s pretty frustrating when a student e-mails us for help, we answer (perhaps asking for clarification), and then wait and wait and wait for the follow up, only to get a response days or weeks later because the student doesn’t check e-mail!!! If you are going to ask a faculty member for help, then do him/her the courtesy of checking for a response promptly. And don’t forget to say thanks in your follow up! When you send e-mail, make sure to compose in proper English. Avoid using hoaky sign language, abbreviations only you or your friends understand, etc. Capitalize and punctuate properly. Write in complete sentences. You don’t want the prof to think you’re illiterate, do you?! (Are you?)
9. Do not, unless you are expressly given permission to do so, call faculty at home to ask when grades are posted, why you were short changed a point or two, etc. Faculty are people too: they have family, including small children who deserve their attention. Being hard working, creative and productive, they also appreciate down time, ergo leaving their work at the office. No matter how important you think your problem is, it will wait for normal business hours.

Valuable Additional Tips
By Joey Freeman

One of the most valuable skills you can acquire in your education is the ability to speak with people who are (1) different from you, and (2) who know more than you. If you only talk with individuals who are like you, you will only have your own experience [with which to view the world]. As a result your perspective will be narrow and your life will not be as rich as it potentially could be.

If you only talk with individuals who are at your level of knowledge you will be denying yourself a profound learning experience. You will not be challenged, and indeed you may become stuck in a real sense and professionally you will not grow.

In BIO at the University of Georgia you are lucky to come in contact with faculty, many of whom are world-known experts in their fields. However, it is clear to me that most students do not know how to benefit from this tremendous resource. As a career advisor I see that many students do not know how to benefit from the career insight these faculty may possess.

While it is important to remember that faculty are busy people and you need to respect their time, there may be many opportunities over your college career to talk in depth with a number of faculty. Remember that these conversations could be tremendous educational opportunities equal to anything that you have learned in a textbook or experienced in class. Also keep in mind that as seniors you will be asking faculty for letters of recommendation. However, they can write INFORMED letters ONLY IF THEY HAVE GOTTEN TO KNOW YOU. That means that YOU have to do your part too. Let them get to know you!!

To help students interact with faculty, I have prepared the following list of questions that you might wish to consider as you engage professors, instructors or teaching/laboratory assistants. Remember, practice makes perfect. Practice the skill of talking with others who are different from you and know more than you.

Here are some examples of questions to ask**, in no particular order. I am also available to speak with you individually about this subject. Call me for an appointment at 542-8794.

-What inspired you to go into science?
-Did you have a role model who inspired you?
-What do you find most interesting about your field?
-What qualities do a good scientist in your field possess?
-Would you tell me about some of your current projects?
-What is your average day like?
-What are some of your interests outside of work?
-Are there things you wish someone had told you before you got into your field?
-How do the demands of your field impact the other demands of your life, e.g. family etc? Do you know of individuals who have balanced a variety of interests/demands with their career?
-If I am interested in your field, how can I get into it?
-What advanced degrees do I need to get into your field? What kinds of jobs are available?
-What is graduate school like in your field? Can you suggest good graduate programs and major professors?
-What are some problems that a young scientist will face in your area?
-To what professional organizations do you belong?
-Who are some of your colleagues whose work you admire and why?
-Have there been books that made a difference in your life?
-Do you know of interesting sources of written information about your field?
-How do you see your career evolving over the years?
-What advice would you give a student who wants to go into your field?
-What are some of the trends that you see in your field?
-What are you most proud of in your career?
-What are some of the specialties in your field that are intriguing?
-What are some of the skills that you see as necessary for success today?
-What do you look for in the people you like to work with?
-What are some of the typical problems that you face?
-How do you/I become well informed in your field?
-Ask them to fill in this blank: A person should not go into my field unless (s)he can ___________________

-Do you know of other people I could speak with?
-Would you look over a copy of my resume. What do you think that I need to do to make myself more attractive to admission committees or employers? Are there any changes I should make in my resume’, or things I should add?
-Do you accept undergrads to do research in your lab? Would you consider me?
-It’s a good idea to also speak with graduate students and postdoctoral fellows about their respective fields. Ask the professor whether (s)he will introduce you to people in his/her lab. Ask the graduate students if you can make an appointment to speak with them, where you can ask some or all of the above questions. Grad students are close to you in age and are ‘in the trenches’. They know what it’s like learning to be a scientist on a day to day basis NOW, so they have unique insights they can share with you. By the way, if you have lab assistants in your courses, e.g. BIOL 1107/1108, you can also speak with them.