This Web site is designed to help you learn more about our department, including its mission, curriculum, facilities, activities, and faculty and students. Whether you are a prospective student interested in our biology program, a current student wondering what our major is all about, or an
alumnus wanting to catch up on what we have been up to, please do not hesitate to contact us personally with your questions. In the meantime, please click on any of the links to learn more about specific areas.
Our general strengths as a department fall into three main areas: a highly-qualified and broadly trained faculty, a strong student work program designed to foster success in biology, and an ability to work very closely with students on a one-on-one basis to achieve our goals. We particularly stress active faculty-student research throughout the curriculum and have recently moved into a state-of-the-art laboratory and teaching facility.
The availability of the 26,000-acre outdoor classroom and natural laboratory is a unique attribute of our program. Not only is the wooded and mountainous campus a beautiful site for various forms of outdoor recreation, it is the site of numerous short-term and long-term field experiences for students.
While our on-campus curriculum is very broad, we also emphasize off-campus experiences including programs in Central America (Costa Rica, Belize), the Gulf Coast Research Lab, the Highlands Biological Lab, and short programs at various regional sites (e.g., Savannah River Ecology Lab, Robert Jones Ecological Research Station, Coweeta Biological Research Station).
The students and professors in the biology program tend to know each other well; numerous opportunities exist for frequent out-of-class interaction (e.g., open door policies for our offices, seminars, annual picnics, faculty-student clubs and gatherings, etc.). By nurturing positive faculty-
student interactions in a collegial atmosphere, we seek to round out our program in keeping with the three-fold mission of Berry College—an education of the head, heart, and hands.
Finally, we take great care to focus students' attention on career opportunities and directions in biology, and have had excellent success in getting students into graduate and professional schools, including medical school.
Sincerely,
Dr. Chris Mowry, Department Chair