2025 Update

 

It's interesting how fast life speeds by. It's really crazy to think that it's been over a year since I graduated with my Ph.D. from the University of Georgia. Since then, I was very privileged to accept the offer to become an Assistant Professor of Biology at Husson University in Bangor, Maine! I had a great first year teaching General Biology, and this fall I'll be teaching Anatomy and Physiology. I am also developing an upper-division Medicinal Botany class! 

I'm really enjoying working here at Husson. I have some super talented and thoughtful colleagues and supervisors who are laser-focused on providing students with the best learning experiences possible. I've particularly enjoyed being able to incorporate novel active learning strategies into my lectures. Yes, learning is hard work. But I also think the best kind of hard work can simultaneously be fun. Highlights of this past school year have included using pipe cleaners to teach mitosis and directing a theatrical skit to teach DNA replication! Many times, I have used big sheets of paper and colored markers to teach how various biological processes work. In General Biology I, I helped to develop a final poster project in place of a final exam. In this final poster project, students chose a disease they were interested in and created a poster comparing and contrasting how various biological processes work or are affected in normal vs. diseased organisms. In General Biology II, the "final exam" was a film festival where each student created a 3-minute educational video about their favorite wild animal species! The ecology, evolution, characteristics, and proposed conservation actions for the species were included in the script. For the final exam period, I brought candy and popcorn, and we watched everyone's videos as a class! I ensured that in the process of creating the poster or video scripts, students had ample experience in finding and incorporating reputable sources from scientific literature. Yes, teaching content is essential, especially in foundational science classes. But I also think that teaching the transferable skills of critical thinking, communication, and even curiosity is equally important. And when done well, teaching content and skills is a both/and proposition, not either/or. I am delighted that my opportunities for creative course design continue this school year!

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to attend the 2025 Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of America in Baltimore, Maryland. It's the premier organization for ecologists, and it was absolutely fantastic to attend it for the second time. Such a great opportunity to become energized by the enthusiasm and energy thousands of other ecologists exhibit about the importance of their research. It's also a great chance to attend workshops on how to become a better ecological educator, and build my professional networks overall. All of the above objectives were met in the most wonderful way - thank you to everyone I met, new friends and old! 

Well, that's the update for now. All the best! Back to the classroom!

Austin