BIMS

Lab concept: equipment/support spaces around periphery of lab

Last summer, I wrote about the lab renovation competition to be held this fall.  The main spaces delivering BIMS programming – labs for molecular- and genetics-based courses and for microbiology- and immunology-based courses – were selected for renovation.  The goal was to use the renovation event as a way of freeing programs from the confines of their spaces so that the programs define the spaces instead of the spaces defining the programs.  This post represents something of an update on where things stand.

McMurry VP Brad Poorman oversees facilities and is working closely with local architect Rick Weatherl to define and plan the scope of the project.  BIMS faculty have a general idea of what they want to see in the spaces being planned, and Brad and Rick are the ones to figure out where and how that will be done.  Our recommendation is to have experts in lab design brought in as “subcontractors” to insure sufficient experience and expertise are available to guide them and us.  Below are some general specifications for building great spaces that are flexible and functional and support science as BIMS plans to teach it in the future.

• The main labs will be dual purpose, for teaching lectures and for teaching labs.  They will comfortably seat around 20 students, with an emphasis on comfort so that lectures in these rooms are the norm and not the exception.  Much of the actual hands-on work will be done around the periphery of the room, where utilities and equipment are found.  The structure is such that non-BIMS courses could be taught in the lab by closing off access to the peripheral spaces.  Such features make these labs true dual-purpose spaces, where lectures and labs are taught as the need arises.
• Adjacent to the main labs (and through doors that can seal off access when not desired), incubation and project spaces will allow students to check on their results and continue on projects without bothering other classes being taught in the main labs.  When doors between them are open, students use those project spaces for their incubation, for storage of some equipment, and for setting up their projects.  Supplies and media needed by students will be placed here after being prepared in the Prep Kitchen.  When doors are closed, the incubation and project spaces are separated so two populations of students can work without interrupting one another.  These spaces also will support student and faculty research projects, which now must be done in the teaching labs due to lack of space.
• New Prep Kitchen spaces.  BIMS labs require a great deal of preparation, and having adequate space for that work is essential.  Much of it now is accomplished in a teaching lab, and the kitchen cannot be accessed without traveling through a teaching lab.  There will also be adequate storage of consumables for the courses.
• Shared major instrument room.  Some pieces of equipment are used rarely in teaching normal classes, but are occasionally used by individuals in a variety of courses.  Such pieces of equipment would be located in an instrument room shared by the BIMS labs.  The LI-COR DNA analyzer and other equipment used in the research done by students and faculty would be moved from teaching labs (where now housed) to a more appropriate spot.  Because the instrument room will be connected with student project setup areas, those students working on research projects will have ready access when such equipment is needed.

This model, concentric circles of spaces – (1) teaching labs, (2) student project/incubation/supplies spaces, and (3) Prep Kitchen/storage and major instrumentation room – promises to bring McMurry appropriate activities taking place in appropriate spaces, allowing appropriate access to students and research opportunities for all.  The spaces are not based on individuals or courses, but on shared activities undertaken as we teach our students and involve them in our research.  Right for today and flexible for the future, these labs promise to be the standard by which future lab renovations are compared.

Construction should begin in May, with a goal of moving in by the start of classes in August.  My advice?  Come to Homecoming 2010, when we anticipate the new labs to be dedicated!

Students scoring classmate's personal statements

This semester McMurry has taken preparation for the health professions to a whole new level with a new Pre-Professions (PREP) seminar course.  This elective course taught by Dr. Larry Sharp (see BIMS faculty or BIMS contact information for more on Dr. Sharp) is open to any student, and our hope is all those who plan on pursuing acceptance into a health professions program (medical, dental, physical therapy, pharmacy, etc.) will take the four semester sequence of seminars.

So, what’s been going on in the FIRST semester?  PREP students have been busy with group projects outlining the different disciplines of interest. Sixteen (16) groups presented PowerPoint lectures illustrating each discipline’s answers to the following questions:

• What (Texas) schools offer your degree specialization?
• What prerequisites are required? (Common and school specific)
• What entrance exam is required?  What are the minimums required for scores/GPA?
• What would be a typical “Day in the Life..” for a practitioner?
• What courses would be taken while in the professional school?
• Are internships required prior to application?
• Are there additional courses/fellowships required?
• What is the ratio of applicants versus offered seats?

Students in the PREP seminar class have also started working on their individual personal statements (not an easy task!).  Our experience shows statements that express well one’s motivation and convey the strengths and personalities of the applicant often take months and months of drafts and re-writes.  A separate blog on the way that has been approached is available at the SNCS website (http://blogs.mcm.edu/sncs/, “PREP Class Working on Personal Statements”).

The PREP seminar also features a full slate of guest speakers during its hour-long weekly meetings.  So far this semester, students have heard from the following people:

• McMurry Faculty, Dr Joel Brant – Graduate School opportunities
• McMurry Faculty,  Dr. Timothy Renfro – Medical Physics
• US Army Staff Sergeant, Sean Sullivan – Health Professional opportunities/scholarships
• Ross University, Associate Director of Admissions, Tiffany Ciolek

 The slate of speakers will continue throughout the spring, as admissions advisors from Texas medical and dental and pharmacy schools come to Abilene to share their processes and expectations with future applicants.

In all these ways, McMurry is pro-actively preparing its students for that moment of truth when all their college experiences are distilled down into readiness for professional school application and matriculation.  Preparing the next generation of health professionals is a meticulous and deliberate process improved by the attention of knowledgeable and caring faculty.

Chili the Wonderdog

In the past few days I’ve experienced what every college professor relishes in – reconnection with former students.  In some ways, seeing a student graduate is like letting my dog Chili off her lead – I never know if she’s going to go chase the bunnies or remain close by and be obedient.  There’s been more than one occasion when freedom has meant chasing a cat, when it should have been all about sticking by me while we check the mail or get the newspaper.

I have been fortunate through the years to have great students and to enjoy living a portion of McMurry’s core values – that personal relationships are the catalyst for life.  Those relationships begin as students come in as freshmen and we begin to learn about each other – about our families, the importance of faith in our lives, how to balance needs and wants, where education has and will lead us.  I believe my students know me well, know my wife and sons, know that I really, really care about their success as students today and professionals of the future.  Students at small colleges like McMurry probably have no clue that their faculty live vicariously through the lives of their students, and that we feel great pride and a sense of credit and accomplishment when our alums become successful.  They take a piece of us with them and leave a piece of themselves behind when they have spent four years in our classes and offices.  And when they then graduate and go off, I know I always worry that they will chase cats and rabbits and neglect to stay in touch.

Dr. Gena Nichols in my office yesterday

I have seen the beginning and endpoint of that journey in the past week, starting with Student Preview on Saturday.  Talking with prospective students and their parents is always enjoyable, as I emphasize the strength of our programs and more importantly the strength of our relationships with students.  If those in attendance at Preview could only have a glimpse of the outcome of a McMurry education!   I was reminded of that on Sunday, when Dr. Sharla Owens sent a friend request on Facebook from California where she practices and teaches emergency medicine.  Our college-age sons were just little guys when our family drove down to Galveston for her graduation from UTMB.  Then today, Dr. Chad Johnson, alumnus and physician in El Paso, contacted me to discuss a high schooler he knows who is interested in McMurry.  Chad was my barometer on the quality of our science courses during his time at McMurry.  Anytime I needed to know how we were doing, he was willing to answer truthfully.  And yesterday I was privileged to spend an hour or so with Dr. Gena Jester Nichols, catching up on people and old times, and learning about her research on Adenoviruses and how her Wake Forest PhD has prepared her for her new job as a Research Scientist at Tulane. 

Three different students, three different success stories of moving through the years from teacher-student to mentor-apprentice, and finally to friends and colleagues.  It has been a very rewarding week for me because these three alums have chosen to reconnect with McMurry’s science faculty.  May those who enter as freshmen next fall do likewise over the years to come.