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Student and Faculty Biologists Celebrate Their Science on Darwin's Birthday
Biology faculty member Mark Stanback gave his best impression of Charles Darwin for the birthday celebration.
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3/3/2005
Contact: Bill Giduz 704/894-2244 or bigiduz@davidson.edu
by Jonathan Crooms ' 04
photos by Caitlin Ranson ' 07
Biology students and their professors got together recently for a light-hearted celebration of Charles Darwin’s 196th birthday, demonstrating that interaction between students and professors at Davidson is more than just an academic matter.
This fourth annual Charles Darwin Birthday Party was sponsored by the BioSociety, a student-run biology club that organizes departmental seminars, service opportunities, and social events.
Students decorated Rusk Eating House with balloons, streamers, and a black and white photo of Darwin. The festivities included a delicious dinner, a birthday cake, door prizes, and an unexpected visit from Darwin himself (as played by costumed Associate Professor of Biology Mark Stanback).
Students and professors greeted “Darwin” with a traditional rendition of “Happy Birthday.” He blew out his birthday candles and gave a few brief remarks. “I’m very lucky to be alive,” he said. “And I’m delighted that my ideas continue to be so universally embraced,” he added with a wink.
The idea for the party originated with the BioSociety's faculty advisor, MacArthur Assistant Professor Karen Hales, who enjoyed a similar social event with fellow biology majors and faculty during her undergraduate days at Swarthmore College. She said Darwin’s birthday is an appropriate occasion for biologists to celebrate because of the contributions he made to the discipline.
“All biology is founded on the principle of evolution,” said Hales. “In every biology class, there is mention of Darwin’s principles.”
The evening concluded with a raffle for door prizes, which included coffee mugs and tee shirts printed with biology jokes, and a framed picture of a seagull on San Francisco Bay. The featured prize was a green and red hat in the shape of the single-celled algae Chlamydomonas, or pond scum, knitted by Associate Professor of Biology Patricia Peroni. The hat bore two detachable flagella representing experiments familiar to every student who enrolls in the introductory course, “Molecules, Genes, and Cells.”
Darwin’s birthday celebration is one of several social events that BioSociety hosts throughout the academic year to help build relationships between students and biology faculty outside of the classroom.
Kristen Koerhrn '08 won the top raffle prize, a green and red hat in the shape of the single-celled algae Chlamydomonas, or pond scum, knitted by biology faculty member Patricia Peroni.
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In the fall, the BioSociety organizes a bonfire and s’more roast at the Lake Campus just before spring course selection so that prospective biology students can speak with upperclassmen about courses and their experiences as biology majors.
Senior biology major Sarah Davis, president of the BioSociety, said, “It is wonderful to get people together who love biology.” She continued, “We wanted to make BioSociety more of a social activity in order to get more interaction between upper and underclass biology majors.”
Many of the fifty to sixty biology majors in each class, and many of the thirteen biology faculty members, also meet on Fridays for lunch in Vail Commons.
Senior biology major Katie Winter said that it is good for the spirit of the department for students and faculty members to share non-academic moments. “It’s wonderful to know your professors on a personal level,” said Winter. “It’s special to be able to do your academic work for professors who know and care about your development as a student and growth as a person.”
Charles A. Dana Professor of Biology and chair of the biology department Verna Case added that developing relationships with students helps faculty members understand where they are coming from and how they can best help them.
“Getting to know the students outside of the classroom enriches the academic experience as well as our personal lives,” said Case. “It makes us better teachers.”
Davidson is a highly selective independent liberal arts college for 1,700 students. Since its establishment in 1837, the college has graduated 23 Rhodes Scholars and is consistently ranked among the top liberal arts colleges in the country by U.S. News and World Report magazine. Davidson is engaged in “Let Learning Be Cherished,” a $250 million campaign in support of student financial assistance, academic resources, and community life.
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