Biology Seminar BIOL-41100/41200
Thursdays 4:00, CNS 112
Spring
2013
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Instructor: Ed
Cluett |
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Office: 167 CNS |
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Phone: 274-7355 |
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E-mail: ecluett@ithaca.edu |
Seminars in Biology:
This course is intended to provide you with a broad exposure to biology by hearing about the ongoing and exciting research of scientists. Attending seminars is one way that professional scientists keep abreast of new information in biology. Attending seminars will also benefit you by exposing you to new and different areas of biology. The seminar speakers are also good sources of information about careers or graduate school. You will have the opportunity to meet informally with the speakers in the Biology Conference Room (CNS 163) immediately following the seminar.
Policy:
Official college policy stated in the
“Undergraduate Announcements” is: Students are expected to
attend classes and that they are responsible for all
material even when absent. Acceptable
reasons for absence include 1) student illness, requiring
the student to be bed-ridden; 2) death or serious illness in
immediate family; 3) appearance in court; 4) religious
holidays.
As a pass/fail class, the
only criteria for passing the course are attendance and
participation. While
there may be valid reasons to miss one or maybe two
seminars, you are required to
attend an absolute minimum of six seminars
and two discussions during the course of the
semester. Of the
seminars that you attend, at least one MUST
include the Junior Research Symposium. If you fail to attend the absolute
minimum number of events, you will fail the course. Please be aware that situations
may occur where the speaker has to cancel at the last
minute, for a valid reason – do not PLAN to attend the minimum number of
events, a cancelled talk is not a valid excuse for failing
to meet the requirements of the course.
Attendance will be taken at each seminar &
discussion session. A clipboard will be passed around the
room during the seminar. It is your responsibility
to sign it to indicate you were present.
Personal
Conduct:
"A
student's behavior must not interfere with the activities of
the College or with other student's pursuit of educational
objectives" (see General Information, Undergraduate
Announcements). Seminar
speakers are not paid by us, they are speaking as a courtesy
to us – so please show appropriate courtesy to them in
return. Often, the guest
speaker is involved in admissions for their institution:
they are interested in spreading the word about their
postgraduate programs and possibly recruiting students. We want the speakers to
leave with strongly positive feelings. Talking during
lecture (except for questions or participating in class
discussions) is disruptive and is disrespectful. Cell phones, pagers, etc. are to
be kept turned off during classes. Coming in late, falling
asleep, or trying to catch up on reading during the seminar
are similarly disrespectful and will result in you being
marked absent.
REVISIONS IN THE
SCHEDULE WILL BE POSTED ON THE WEBSITE AND BULLETIN BOARD
IN THE MAIN FOYER (1ST FLOOR CNS). IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY
TO LOOK FOR ANNOUNCEMENTS AND UPDATES TO THE SCHEDULE.
Each
seminar speaker is introduced by a student. Please
sign up to introduce a speaker. Information for
the introductions can be obtained from the Departmental
Assistant, Nancy Pierce (CNS 161). Please introduce
yourself to the seminar speaker before the seminar.
At
3:45 pm we will put refreshments in the front hallway: this
is a chance to socialize with your classmates, the faculty,
and our guest speaker. This is
traditional in departmental seminars throughout academia. Please consider the environment
and bring a reusable mug – we are trying to minimize garbage
and waste of resources.