When Lindsey Dornberger was searching for a place to pursue a doctorate in marine science, she considered four graduate schools before choosing USF.
It is the “Goldilocks” of institutions, said Dornberger, a fourth-year teaching assistant for biology labs. “They have money to do research, it’s a good program, and it’s a nice place to live.”
Dornberger is enrolled through USF’s Tampa program since there is no graduate biology program on the St. Petersburg campus – at least not yet.
USF St. Petersburg biology students in the honors program conduct research as part of the biological sciences curriculum.
But hundreds of undergraduates apparently agree with her about USFSP. There are 711 biology majors here, which makes it the university’s most popular major, well ahead of pre-business administration (586 majors), psychology (428) and education (300).
The surge in biology majors also figures in USFSP’s 10-year master plan, which anticipates only one new academic building in the decade ahead – a second science and technology building.
That building, which would be constructed on the north side of the current Science and Technology Building, would house classrooms, labs and offices for science, technology, engineering and math.
Meanwhile, the university is remodeling a former Greyhound Bus maintenance building behind the Poynter Institute for laboratories. One lab will be for chemistry students, the other three for biology. The labs will be bigger, with more prep room space, than current labs. They should be ready by next spring.
Dr. Melanie Riedinger-Whitmore, the chair of the Biological Sciences Department, was a founding member of the department in the fall of 2012.
The new program exceeded its five-year growth estimate in the first semester, a development that Dr. Thomas Whitmore, a research assistant professor attributes to his wife’s skill in creating the backbone of the program and gaining state approval.
“She did a great service to the university,” Whitmore said. “It’s really quite an accomplishment. A lot of lives have been changed in three years’ time.”
USFSP offers five concentrations within the major: biomedical; ecology and environment; plant biology; marine biology; and general biology.
“Students come into the program with a curiosity about life,” Riedinger-Whitmore said. “Some have a strong science background, but may only see careers in medicine or marine science. Then they see other options as freshmen.”
Dornberger, the doctoral candidate and biology lab teaching assistant, said she thinks a lot of students choose biology because it is a “gateway science degree.”
Mitch DeRosa, a junior biology major with a concentration in marine biology, said he selected his route because “I just like animals. And that’s what I want to do when I get out of here – study animals.”
Jon Guilford, a freshman in the major, has yet to pick a concentration.
Ian Burke, a junior majoring in biology, makes the first incision on his specimen for dissection. Lab teaching assistant Brenna Meath helps students with the proper technique.
“But I definitely want to be in pathology, because I like studying things that are too small to see with the naked eye,” Guilford said.
Dr. Scott Burghart is the adviser for upper-level biology majors. In his opinion, the rise in interest in biology coincides with “society placing an increasing emphasis on STEM training and getting a STEM degree.”
He added, “The goal (for USFSP) is to grow enrollment to 10,000 in 10 years, making an increase in the biology major good for all.”
STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and math, four areas that are closely related and critical to many careers. The U.S. Department of Education has predicted more growth in STEM-related fields over the next five years than all other occupations.
While that is encouraging news, Riedinger-Whitmore advises her students to have a solid plan and an alternate plan. “A degree in biology typically requires post-grad work of some kind. You’re usually looking at academic work or at least a certification,” she said.
The professors in the department are training students in fieldwork and research to prepare them for post-graduate level endeavors. Sometimes, this happens through substantial personal effort.
“There is an emphasis on student access to faculty and research. They make time for the students and mentoring is very important for the program,” Riedinger-Whitmore said.
The hands-on nature of so many biology offerings may lie at the heart of the major’s success.
Whitmore has created a teaching herbarium in his research laboratory. Students help collect specimens of local Florida flora, which are then pressed, mounted and added to the neatly labeled and arranged cupboards. He has also amassed a myriad of reference books on plants and ecology not available through the school’s library system.
Other instructors on campus have collections, too. Dr. Heather Judkins specializes in cephalopod research and has several squid in her research laboratory.
“We want the students to have more time to work in the labs outside of class,” said Riedinger-Whitmore.
Meanwhile, she is busy with another administrative challenge: In response to high demand, she is working to create a graduate program on campus, too.
