ANNUAL REPORT: June 1, 2008 – May 31, 2009
(i.e., Summer 2008, AY 2008-2009)
DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND FOREST BIOLOGY
SUNY-ESF
NAME: Gregory McGee
I. INSTRUCTIONAL ACTIVITIES
1. Regular Course Offerings
Course No.
Title
Credit
Hrs.
No.
Students
No. of Lab.
Sections
SUMMER:
EFB 320
General Ecology
4
12
1
FALL:
EFB 102
EFB 132
General Biology I Laboratory
Freshman Orientation Seminar
1
1
307
120
15
2
SPRING:
EFB 104
General Biology II Laboratory
1
192
12
2. Non-Scheduled Course Offerings (e.g., 496, 899, 999)
Course No.
EFB 899
EFB 495
Credit
Hrs.
Title
Masters Thesis Research
Undergrad Exp. College Teaching
2
1
No.
Students
1
13
3. Continuing Education and Extension (short courses, workshops, etc.)
None
4. Guest Lecture Activities
Course No.
EFB 101
Title
General Biology
No. of Lectures
Two (each delivered twice)
II. STUDENT ADVISING
A. Number of undergraduates for whom you are the student’s official advisor ___6_ and unofficial advisor __0__
B. Graduate Students: (Name, degree sought, starting date, month & year; if a degree was completed, please give
date and full citation for the thesis or dissertation).
MAJOR PROFESSOR
CO-MAJOR PROFESSOR
Michael Hough, MS, Starting Date 6/06; Degree completed 12/08; Thesis Title: POSSIBLE LIMITING AGENTS
TO THE EARLY ESTABLISHMENT AND GROWTH OF UNDERSTORY HERBS IN POSTAGRICULTURAL FORESTS IN CENTRAL NEW YORK (with T. Horton).
MEMBER, STEERING COMMITTEE (other than those listed above)
Keith Bowman
James Costello
Jennifer Gillrich
Mary Penney
Patricia A. Cole
CHAIRMAN OR READER ON THESIS EXAMS, ETC.
III. RESEARCH COMPLETED OR UNDERWAY
A. Departmental Research (unsupported, boot-legged; title - % time spent)
-This year I co-advised (with R. Nyland) one undergraduate UMEB student in his research activities:
Max Wightman, Ground-level vegetation response to mechanical removal of American beech. (<1%).
-This year I began or expanded three unfunded, experimental trials to restore forest understory vegetation
using volunteer labor. These trials are located at Heiberg Forest, a municipal forest in the Town of
Skaneateles, and a forest preserve in Geneva that is owned and managed by the Finger Lakes Land Trust.
High school classes (Marcellus and Skaneateles), citizen volunteers and EFB General Biology students have
begun trials to monitor the success of direct seeding of several native forest wildflower species.
B. 1. Grant-supported Research (source, subject, amount - total award and current year, award period starting
and ending dates; list graduate research assistants supported by each grant)
2. Research Proposals pending (as in B.1., above)
-NSF-CCLI, “Integrated Knowledge-Based Experiences for First-Year Biology and Chemistry
Laboratories,” $196,330, 6/1/10-5/31/13, with N. Abrams, V. Luzadis, D. Leopold, A. Stipanovic).
-USDA Forest Service – Northeastern States Research Cooperative, “Effects of Understory Beech Saplings
on Plant Species Diversity and Forest Structure within New York’s Adirondack Park,” $42,338, 9/1/098/31/10, with R. Nyland, M. Dovciak, S. McNulty).
IV. PUBLICATIONS (Full bibliographic citation, i.e., do not use "with Jones," or "Jones, et al."; please list only
publications published, in press, or actually submitted during this reporting period --- do not list manuscripts
in preparation).
A. Refereed Publications
B. Non-refereed Publications
C. Papers Presented at Science Meetings (give title, date, occasion, and location)
D. Public Service Presentations (lectures, seminars, etc. to and for the public; give group or occasion, date(s), and
attendance)
V. PUBLIC SERVICE
A. Funded Service (include consulting activities)
1. Government Agencies (Federal, State, Local):
-Reviewed National Park Service National Capital Region Network Vegetation Monitoring Protocol.
-Completed production and public roll-out of the Salmon River Watershed Viability Analysis (McGee, 2008)
and Salmon River Watershed Natural Resource Assessment (McGee, 2008) for the New York State Tug Hill
Commission.
2. Industrial and Commercial Groups, etc.
B. Unfunded Service to Governmental Agencies, Public Interest Groups, etc.
Preserve Management Advisory Committee, Finger Lakes Land Trust.
VI. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
A. Professional Honors and Awards (for teaching, research, outreach, etc.)
B. 1. Activities in Professional Organizations (offices held, service as chairman, member, participant or
consultant)
2. Professional Society Membership
Association for Biology Laboratory Education
Society of American Foresters
Ecological Society of America
3. Other Professional Activities
a. Editorial activity
Journal (s)
Responsibility
Other (books, symposia, etc.)
b. Reviewer
Journal(s)
Ecoscience
No. of manuscripts
1
Agency
No. of proposals
Other
c. Participation (workshops, symposia, etc.)
Name of workshop, etc.
Date
Place
C. Further Education/Re-training Undertaken, Leaves, Workshops, etc.
NSF Days, Binghamton, NY, January, 2009.
Outdoor Orientation Programs Workshop, Assoc. Experiential Learning, Beckett, MA, April 2009
D. Foreign Travel (Where, When, Purpose)
VII. ADMINISTRATIVE AND SERVICE RESPONSIBILITIES (include committee participation)
A. Department-level
-EFB CCAC
-ENB assessment team.
-Began organizing Freshmen Pre-Orientation Adirondack Experience to be held August 22-25 (w/ A.
Woods).
-Accepted student orientation session, June 6.
B. College-level
-Learning Community Team – contributed to coordination of freshman retreat, coordinated service activities
(Guppy Farm wildflower restoration, Salmon River cleanup), summer reading selection.
-South Campus Housing Task Force
- Faculty Governance Committee on Instruction – Subcommittee on General Education.
-Facilitator of summer reading discussion groups (twice).
-ESF Graduate Assistant Colloquium – facilitated workshop on Evaluating Written Work (8/22/08), two
sessions, ~ 20-30 participants each.
-Provided internal review for GK-12 graduate assistant handbook on writing lab reports, testing hypotheses.
-McIntire-Stennis Proposal Review
-Office of Multicultural Affairs CSTEP pre-orientation program – lead woodland walk for CSTEP students
(Aug. 18).
C. University-wide, including Research Foundation
VIII. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACTIVITIES AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS DURING THIS
REPORTING PERIOD, ESPECIALLY THOSE MOST NOTEWORTHY AND RELATIVE TO THE
COLLEGE’S AND DEPARTMENT’S MISSION. One paragraph on each of the following would be most helpful:
this past year, what have you done for our students, department/college, and self professionally? NOTE: The
information in this section (along with the supporting specific information elsewhere in this report) should be your
strongest case for being considered for a discretionary raise, which I’ll continue to award based on your contributions to
the department and college this reporting period.
I completed the first iteration of the General Biology laboratory courses (EFB 102/104) with a degree of satisfaction,
but also knowing that some aspects of the courses require restructuring. I am satisfied that I am developing laboratory
experiences that are engaging to our first-year students and that build student capabilities in scientific inquiry,
communication and laboratory skills. Through both semesters, students prepared four full laboratory reports and two
partial reports on descriptive field studies or controlled laboratory experiments. This level of scientific writing is
double the amount that freshmen biology students conducted in the past first-year biology sequence. I also devoted a
great deal of effort to teaching laboratory techniques, including microscopy and sterile transfer methods. Instruction on
laboratory techniques was followed-up with a lab skills proficiency exam during the first semester. These half-hour,
face-to-face (student-instructor) examinations proved to be very worthwhile evaluation activities and teaching
experiences. Students took these examinations seriously and I believe they generally demonstrated good lab techniques
during the second semester. I will consider instituting a similar exam during the second semester. I missed a few
opportunities to synchronize the laboratory instruction with Melissa Fierke’s and Chris Whipps’ lecture courses. With
some adjustments in the scheduling and scope of a few activities, the three of us are certain to better integrate our
courses in the coming year.
In addition to 102/104 I facilitated EFB’s Freshmen Orientation Seminar (EFB132, two sections). Also, in lieu of
taking on a substantial component of EFB202 last summer, I once again taught a field-based General Ecology course
(EFB 320) at the Wanakena Ranger School. With a small class size (twelve), access to numerous Adirondack
ecosystems and field stations, and the addition of a full-time TA, this developed into an exceptional course. Students
were able to participate in daily theoretical discussions and hands-on field investigations. Having a TA permitted for
quick turn-around of written assignments and laboratory reports, and students showed marked improvement in their
writing and analytical skills during this three-week course.
I have also had the pleasure of collaborating with Annie Woods at the Adirondack Ecological Center, and Leah Flynn
in the Office of Student Life, to develop a pilot Pre-Orientation Adirondack Experience for twenty of this year’s
incoming EFB freshmen. The purpose of this program is to offer incoming students a voluntary opportunity to enjoy a
number of informal outdoor experiences with EFB faculty, staff and upperclassmen, and to develop friendships and a
sense of community with their new peers prior to their official on-campus orientation. We hope to use the Adirondack
wilderness setting to begin a dialogue with our new students on matters of personal wellness and assimilation to college
life. We are planning a number of hikes, canoeing trips, rafting trips and service projects during this five-day event. If
the event goes smoothly we’ll plan to open up participation to more students the following year.
This year, I enjoyed making (small) contributions to ENB’s Middle States accreditation assessment plan. Furthermore,
given my role in coordinating EFB202, I have begun organizing student learning outcome evaluation tools through that
course, which was identified as one of the courses where student assessment can be conducted across all EFB majors.
To date, I have coordinated diversity-related assessments with some of this summer’s EFB202 instructors (aquatic
ecology, plant ecology, entomology) and plan to expand the diversity-related evaluations to more units next year (e.g.,
birds, mammals, herps, fungi). In addition, I developed a student peer-review evaluation tool to assess student group
work, and restructured the EFB202 Research Symposium evaluations to permit the assessment of oral presentation
skills and hypothesis testing skills.
My service to the college took a variety of forms this year. Perhaps first and foremost was my very enjoyable and
rewarding collaboration with the faculty, staff and administrators on the ESF Learning Community Team. Through the
Learning Community Team I contributed to the planning and participated in the two day-long Freshmen Retreat events
last autumn, and participated in the summer reading selection and discussion groups. Interactions with other LC
faculty have lead to a number of collaborative ideas for biology/chemistry instruction (described below) and writing
instruction. In addition, I joined the COI Subcommittee on General Education, which kept me busy reviewing
numerous student petitions for Gen Ed course requirements; contributed to assuring a smooth transition to South
Campus housing in the coming year by serving on the South Campus Housing Task Force; facilitated two workshops
on Evaluating Written Work at last summer’s ESF Graduate Assistant Colloquium; and provided proposal review for
the McIntire-Stennis program.
IX. A. FUTURE PLANS, AMBITIONS, AND POTENTIAL CONTRIBUTIONS FOR YOUR OWN
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND THE ENHANCEMENT OF THE PROGRAM IN
ENVIRONMENTAL AND FOREST BIOLOGY (brief summary)
My primary objective for the coming school year is to improve upon several aspects of the General Biology laboratory
courses. I need to create more systematic and effective approaches to developing student command for the scientific
method and for teaching scientific writing among the numerous laboratory sections. I also want to develop a couple
more laboratory activities, including the use of electrophoresis techniques (protein and/or DNA) and a comparative
investigation of animal physiology and organ function. Neal Abrams and I realized this year that there are a number of
laboratory activities that we both conduct that lend themselves to collaborative investigations between the General
Biology and Chemistry laboratories. We have pursued these ideas through a recent submission of an NSF-CCLI grant
application ($196,000). Regardless of the outcome of that grant, we will pursue a more synergistic integration of
general chemistry and biology laboratory instruction in the coming year.
On a selfish and personal note, I intend to participate in more actual laboratory instruction this coming year. For all the
students who passed through my General Biology lab courses this year, I interacted with only a small number of them
(one lab section during autumn and three during spring). I hope that as these labs begin running more smoothly, I can
take the time to join the GAs during instruction of all the laboratory sections on several occasions during each semester.
In addition I would welcome getting back into the classroom, perhaps to teach the General Botany course this coming
year or next year, after the General Biology labs settle out. In terms of professional development, I intend to become
more active in the Association of Biology Laboratory Education (ABLE), which I have come to appreciate as an
excellent resource for developing, field-testing, and sharing laboratory instruction materials. During the past year, I
have a few productive interactions with members of this association of biology teachers. There will be opportunities in
the coming year to present a couple of laboratory activities that I developed at upcoming ABLE conferences and
workshops.
B. PROJECTED ACTIVITIES FOR NEXT YEAR
1. Summer 2009
a. Course(s) to be offered
EFB 202: will coordinate instruction and facilitate two sessions of the class (~75 students each)
b. Proposed research activity
Complete manuscript on atmospheric deposition effects on Tug Hill.
c. University, professional society, and public service
Learning Community
2. Fall Semester 2009
a. Course(s) to be offered
EFB 102
EFB 132
b. Proposed research activity
c. University, Professional society, and public service
Learning Community
3. Spring Semester 2010
a. Course(s) to be offered
EFB 104
b. Proposed research activity
c. University, professional society, and public service
Learning Community