Academic Planning Summary Sheet
Evaluator: Jennie Klumpp
Research
Department
or Center
Bio Sciences
Bio Sciences
Bio Sciences
Bio Sciences
Bio Sciences
Bio Sciences
Bio Sciences
Impact Item
5 years
Expand neuroscience research program in recognition of increased departmental faculty strength in areas of basic cell
physiology and eukaryotic molecular biology to form a "Cell and Molecular Neurobiology and Physiology" (CMNP)
group.
Neuroscience faculty will seek to expand departmental strength in molecular signaling, neuroendocrinology, and
developmental neurobiology (cells, genes), with the goal of successfully competing for NIH training and program
grants.
Expansion of the ongoing collaboration with neuroscientists in the Psychology department in the
areas of learning, memory, and cognitive neuroscience.
CMNP group will also emphasize biomedical aspects of animal development and on environmental health issues
related to xenobiotic chemicals and metabolic disorders requiring greater collaborations with medical imaging in
engineering and surface studies, and with faculty in Health Science and research scientists WATER.
Research on host-parasite interactions will foster collaborations between neuroscience faculty and the microbiologist,
and behavioral ecologists.
Our faculty research group in Ecology, Evolution and Behavioral Biology (EEB) will build a focus upon aspects of
“biological responses to large-scale environmental change in both terrestrial and aquatic environments”. This
includes higher order environmental stressors such as climate change, land use and development,
invasive species and resource management strategies.
Members of the EEB group will study a very wide array of indicators of change, including: environmental genomics,
cell and whole-organism physiology, behavioral adaptation and plasticity, biodiversity changes, natural community
and ecosystem dynamics. There will be emphasis on issues with local economic impact in both land and aquatic
habitats, and emphases on developing conservation strategies (bioremediation, habitat restoration, policy
development) and exportation of our expertise to developing countries (globalization).
Bio Sciences
Bio Sciences
Bio Sciences
Strengthened interactions with WATER, Geoscience, Physics, Atmospheric Sciences, Mathematics and other with
universities and research institutes are intended.
While retaining their activity in basic research, the Biological Sciences group in Microbiology & Biotechnology will
expand research directed at environmental & medical applications including exploration for natural drug discovery,
and metabolic engineering of microbes to develop biofuels and new agents for bioremediation.
New emphasis on techniques related to genomics, membrane biophysics, nanotechnology and medical imaging.
These will establish greater collaborations with the departments of Physics and Chemistry, WATER, the Center for
Surface Studies, and the Medical College of Wisconsin
Establish clusters of interacting scientists
Add quantitative expertise in molecular genetics
Develop new analytical and modeling approaches to both molecular bioinformatics and community/ecosystem
ecology.
Research exchange programs with College of Life Sciences from Ningbo University, China and the Università
Politecnica delle Marche, Department of Marine Science, in Ancona, Italy
Develop program of research and graduate education with Ovidius University in Constanta, Romania
Extramural funding level increased by 15-20%.
Bio Sciences
Bio Sciences
10 years
Continue what was initiated in the 5 year plan
Increase in funding of 15-20%
Bio Sciences
Bio Sciences
Bio Sciences
Bio Sciences
Bio Sciences
Bio Sciences
Undergraduate Programs
Department or
Center
Bio Sciences
Bio Sciences
Bio Sciences
Bio Sciences
Bio Sciences
Bio Sciences
Bio Sciences
Bio Sciences
Bio Sciences
Bio Sciences
Bio Sciences
Bio Sciences
Bio Sciences
Impact Item
5 years
Increase the number of departmental majors by 25% next 5 years
Improve undergraduate advising, providing greater freshman orientation to career opportunities in the biological
sciences, streamline undergraduate offerings, and provide more focus for our majors, helping them better focus
their education toward specific career tracks and graduate study
Implement the WEAVE assessment and accounting program over the next several years
Greater emphasis on application of quantitative skills in biological education
Greater emphasis on undergraduate research experiences
Increase in international experiences for our ecologically oriented majors
25% increase in the number of Biological Sciences majors
10 years
Departmental emphasis on undergraduate research experiences to be fully developed
Graduates better prepared for graduate school in the biological sciences, for entrance into health professional
programs or entrance into the job market
Students will more easily navigate our undergraduate curriculum based upon faculty efforts: to streamline, to
develop clear tracks or perhaps distinct subdisciplinary majors, and to implement better curricular
assessment
Microbiology major will grow substantially
Cross-disciplinary curricular development in neuroscience, mathematical biology, evolutionary biology and
aquatic/restoration ecology
Continued increase in undergraduate enrollment of an additional 25% between 5-10 years
Graduate Programs
Department or
Center
Bio Sciences
Bio Sciences
Bio Sciences
Bio Sciences
Bio Sciences
Bio Sciences
Bio Sciences
Bio Sciences
Bio Sciences
Bio Sciences
Bio Sciences
Impact Item
5 years
Grow our graduate programs
Increase the size of our graduate curriculum
Develop cross disciplinary graduate training programs in marine and freshwater biology with Università
Politecnica delle Marche Italy and in aquatic resources and coastal zone management with Ovidius University in
Romania
Potential new MS programs: conservation biology, aquatic biology (not associated with WATER), biotechnology
or microbial engineering or bioremediation, quantitative biology (BioMath)
Expect gradual increased enrollment in areas of neurobiology, microbial biotechnology, behavioral ecology and
evolutionary biology.
10 years
Focused graduate training programs in neuroscience, microbial biotechnology, evolution and behavior
Secured federally-funded training grant programs in one or more of the above focus areas
Dual PhD with Ancona
Research collaborations with Ovidius University
Expanded graduate curriculum to provide formal courses and seminars required for doctoral training
Minimum increase of 20-30% (20-30 students) over our current enrollment
Collaborations
Department or
Center
Bio Sciences
Bio Sciences
Bio Sciences
Bio Sciences
Department, Center, Discipline, Partner (List Separately) (I = Internal; E = External)
5 years
Strengthen multidisciplinary research collaborations with colleagues at other universities (E)
UWM collaborations: Anthropology, Psychology, Clinical Health Science, WATER, Geoscience,
Chemistry, Physics, Atmospheric Sciences, Mathematics, Center for Surface Studies, Center for
International Education, Conservation and Environmental Science (I)
Other universities and research institutes: Medical College of Wisconsin, UW Madison, other UW branch
campuses, College of Life Sciences from Ningbo University in China, Università Politecnica delle Marche,
Department of Marine Science in Ancona, Italy, and Ovidius University in Constanta, Romania (E)
Private sector including biotech (e.g. ThermoFisher Scientific, Bio-Rad) and pharmaceutical companies (E)
Space & Resources
Department or
Center
Bio Sciences
Bio Sciences
Bio Sciences
Bio Sciences
Bio Sciences
Bio Sciences
Bio Sciences
Bio Sciences
Bio Sciences
Bio Sciences
Bio Sciences
Bio Sciences
Bio Sciences
Bio Sciences
Bio Sciences
Bio Sciences
Bio Sciences
Resource Requirement (Indicate timeline)
5 years
5 faculty lines recently awarded our programs through the Research Cluster and Undergraduate DINs
Faculty members in: bioinformatics, ecosystem modeler/theoretical ecologist, biodiversity/systematics,
community/restoration ecology, limnology/paleolimnology, Environmental Physiologist, molecular genetics,
neural development, neuroendocrine mechanisms of neural plasticity, cellsignaling/signal transduction, biological
biochemist, biological imaging
Instructional academic staff to allow faculty in the CMNP group to offer graduate courses rather than being mired
in huge enrollment service courses.
Academic support staff (2) to support undergraduate instructional program
“Money hunters” and grant writers
Additional controlled environmental chambers for maintenance of experimental insects and for growth of
experimental plants.
Phase II of the remodeling in the BioTech Facility, Animal Care Facility upgrades to address current and
future mandated compliance issues, and University Safety and Assurance’s Waste Management Facility upgrades.
A Collaborative Biotechnology Laboratory
Shared Instrumentation upgrades (including technical personnel and Maintenance Contract support)
Basic infrastructure equipment such as autoclaves, glassware washers, laboratory water and vacuum systems,
environmental monitoring equipment
Funds so that equipment can bevalidated or certified to assure data standards
Secure, offsite storage of backup biological material is desperately needed for propriety material. Ideally, this
would consist of as easy to use, redundant data storage warehouse for research information.
Additional or alternative instructional labs-equipment upgrades as newer methodologies are incorporated into the
undergraduate curriculum.
Expanded capacity computer laboratories with biologically relevant software
Classrooms and conference room improvements in Lapham Hall (media equipment, capability for
teleconferencing and remote operation of equipment to be used in both instructional or research applications)
Administrative support to improve the compensation packages for graduate students through increased stipends s).
Resources to support “recruiting weekends”
Bio Sciences
Bio Sciences
Bio Sciences
Bio Sciences
10 years
Technical personnel expert
Continue to be able to keep equipment
Lapham Science Center addition will be 25 years old and require general upgrades to research and
instructional laboratories as well as public areas.
Infrastructure in Lapham North and South towers will require addition maintenance as it ages.
Questions for Department or Center
Department or
Center
Bio Sciences
Question
Other Items of Importance
Department or
Center
Bio Sciences
Item
No members or groups of Biological Sciences faculty are interested in migrating to the proposed satellite
campuses. Our space is recently remodeled and will continue to serve us well for a long time, provided there is
sufficient investment in improved infrastructure and maintenance (Q5 and Q6). We are a large department in
which consensus is often reached with difficulty over contentious issues. We may evolve an internal hierarchical
structure to improve our efficiency and our ability to fulfill our mission statement and our educational/research
goals as a department. But, we anticipate no faculty-initiated movement towards the creation of multiple
departments within the Biological Sciences in the next decade. Multidisciplinary research is, in fact, happening
regularly within our department because of the broad scope of biology. The impact of the proposed School of
Freshwater Sciences on our faculty and programs is an area of serious concern.
Department Codes:
CE: Civil Engineering and Mechanics
CS: Computer Science
EE: Electrical Engineering
IE: Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering
MT: Materials
ME: Mechanical Engineering
B: Biological Sciences
C: Chemistry
G: Geosciences
M: Mathematical Sciences
P: Physics
GLWI: Great Lakes Water Institute
CAF: Center for Alternative Fuels
DSAIC: Decision Systems and Artificial Intelligence
MSL: Multimedia Software Laboratory
CUTS: Center for Transportation Studies
CBU: Center for Byproducts Utilization