An Interview with
Dr. Gary Wilson

Dean, School of Natural and Computational Sciences

How do you view your role in strengthening McMurry University’s academic programs as we approach our Centennial in 2023?

At a meeting I attended several years ago it was stated that our sophistication in technology doubles every 15 to 18 months. Even if this is a horribly overstated statistic, we can expect that many of the jobs in 2023 will involve knowledge and technology not yet dreamed of. How do we prepare our students to be competitive when the target has not yet been drawn?

We will strengthen our future science programs by embracing several truths. First, the laws of nature are immutable. We cannot go wrong if our School of Natural and Computational Sciences (SNCS) programs provide a solid understanding of the basic laws of science. Solid training in math and the fundamentals of a science discipline is the essential foundation upon which tomorrow’s successful scientists will be built. Second, we have to recognize that science is becoming more interdisciplinary in nature. It has been said that all of the interesting science takes place at the intersection of disciplines, where the perspectives from chemistry and physics and computer science, for example, all contribute to “the next breakthrough. We will have to insure that our science programs continue to support one another and aggressively pursue fields where faculty from different SNCS departments share a vision and work together in their research and training of students. Finally, we have to remember that how science and technology are applied will be a moving target. Today’s USB jump drive will go the way of yesterday’s 5¼-inch floppy, and today’s DNA fingerprinting similarly will be replaced by a cheaper, easier, faster and more powerful alternative. This inevitability requires us to remain involved in research and teach our students “what is to be” through their involvement in our research. Science spectators will never be as marketable or prepared for applying their foundational skills and knowledge as those who have “game experience.”

If we succeed in transforming our culture to embrace these truths, McMurry’s science graduates of 2023 will have a very bright future.

 
How will the new restructuring of the academic area into six schools change the way McMurry educates its students?

The new structure for the schools differs most in having a dean and assistant dean overseeing operations instead of a dean and department chairs. We will capitalize on this change by spreading the responsibilities among all science faculty so each contributes to the success of the department and school.

The programs of SNCS are heavily influenced by Project Kaleidoscope (PKAL) and its emphasis on doing “what works.” Restructuring allows us to more intentionally implement that model throughout our curricula, and in doing so, to improve the success of our students and retention in their majors. More emphasis on students “doing science” will be central to our success. Such work is rarely done without collaboration outside a department, and so our students will see that each science discipline does not exist in a vacuum. We can retain more students by having departments provide options to pursue science and math from either a basic or an applied perspective. I believe our innovative approach to teacher preparation will result in outstanding teachers with unmatched levels of understanding, breadth and experience.