Drop-in hours are times set aside from other work for meeting with students. Students are encouraged to come to drop-in hours to discuss course content, advising/mentoring, or just to chat.
Spring 2026 hours: 1:00-2:00pm Mondays in DSC 204 (Hamline)
If you would like to meet outside these hours, schedule here
Entry-level course where students learn to understand the ecological, evolutionary, geological and historical factors which have led to the current distribution and abundance of organisms; to examine the changes in these distributions due to human activities; and to evaluate conservation strategies for different types of organisms.
This is one of two introductory courses in biology. The other course is BIOL 1510, and students may take these courses in either order.
This course is an introduction to biological concepts and principles at and above the level of the organism. The weekly laboratory emphasizes core competencies of the process of science, the interdisciplinary nature of modern biology, data interpretation, quantitative skills, communication in multiple formats, and experience with large databases. This course is using a new approach to teaching introductory biology that is based on the first principles of learning: students learn best when they construct their own knowledge, when their learning builds upon previous knowledge, and when knowledge is relevant to students’ lives. This course is open to first year students only. Exceptions are made by permission of the instructor.
This is a course designed for Biology majors/minors that satisfies the ‘population biology’ elective requirement for the major and is one of the courses that counts toward the Ecology & Evolutionary Biology concentration. In this course we will explore the various subfields of the discipline (e.g., population ecology, community ecology, ecosystem ecology, paleoecology) and connections among these subfields of ecology. In addition, you will learn about and practice a variety of research methods that ecologists use. You will work collaboratively with your classmates through discussion and problem-solving in the lecture component of the class, and through inquiry-based projects in the laboratory component of the class.
This course is intended for biology students nearing the completion of their degrees. The course focuses on the ecological theory underlying restoration and the socio-economic contexts within which restoration efforts occur. Course content includes a mixture of lecture, literature discussions, and engagement with restoration practitioners, culminating in the completion of a semester-long project during which students prepare their own research proposals on a subject related to ecological restoration.
I have taught several special topics courses at Hamline that I intend to turn into standard course offerings. These courses will focus on plant ecology, plant diversity and adaptation, and biological invasions. These are works in progress and current students should not plan on them being offered in the near future.