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Biology


The WWU Biology Department provides an outstanding and inclusive learning environment that integrates education, scholarship, and service, actively engages students in the biological sciences, and fosters their development as lifelong learners. Our curriculum spans subdisciplines from marine ecology to developmental genetics to bioinformatics and provides abundant opportunities for interactions with educators who are national leaders in biology education at the college level.


Graduate Student Summer Research Support

The Biology Department supports approximately 20 master’s student researchers who work on everything from understanding DNA to understanding ecosystems. During the academic year, these students often work as teaching assistants, and, therefore, are invaluable in supporting the biology training of Biology undergraduate students. The summer, on the other hand, is a critical time for graduate students to focus on their own research and training—made possible only through generous donations that we use to develop summer graduate research fellowships or grants. Your gift here will directly promote the education and training of new scientists across all disciplines as they pursue their Master’s degrees. We thank all who have contributed and have experienced first-hand the significance of research and education in WWU Biology. Gifts of every size make a difference!



WWU Biology graduate students outplanting larval abalone to facilitate restoration of Haliotis kamtschatkana, an endangered WA state species.

Biology Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP)

Summer 2022 brought the launch of the new Biology Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP).  This program is largely supported by generous donors who are interested in helping to offer full-time summer research opportunities for undergraduates in Biology labs here at Western.  The program is led by a rotating group of several faculty across biological disciplines, who mentor students and give undergraduate participants the opportunity to build their scientific communication skills, find opportunities for career development and planning for next steps in their scientific journey.  You can read a great article about the program here.  One of the best aspects of the SURP program is that students engaged in a vast array of research within the participating labs, from molecular and cellular to ecological and organismal.  We are excited to build upon this program for years to come and invest in our undergraduate's success!

The summer 2024 SURP program participants, along with Biology faculty and staff during the kickoff event.

Biology Department Insect Collection

With approximately 75,000 insect specimens, the WWU insect collection (WWUC) is the largest public insect collection in Western Washington. Our large collection includes examples of the first "murder hornets" identified here in Whatcom County, fossilized insects, and spectacular butterflies and beetles from the PNW and beyond. To share some of the amazing specimens in our collection we initiated a quarterly Insect Collection Community Open House, a free, family-friendly event that is open to the public. The events have been hugely successful and your gift here will help support ongoing curatorial work, specimen acquisition and storage, and continued community engagement for all ages. Read more about the open house in WWU News. 


 
A young enthusiast sketches a drawing of a beetle (golofa porteri) at the WWU Insect Collection Open House in March 2024. 
Photo by WWU Biology major, Cameron Brown.

 

Joann Otto Microscopy Fund

This fund was established by the late Dr. Joann Otto, Emerita Faculty and long-time Department Chair of Biology to make microscopy more accessible to all students. The Biology department is grateful to our donors that her dedication and commitment to student success will continue on through this endowment. A donation to this fund will provide valuable hands-on research experiences to our students using state-of-the-art scientific equipment.  Through funding obtained from federal agencies and generous donors to this fund, Biology has been able to provide opportunities for students to learn cutting-edge fluorescent and confocal microscopy in research labs and the classroom. This technology is so vital to many disciplines and is used by students to investigate many biological questions, including zebrafish development, plant fertilization, yeast mating systems, and protein interactions.  The Joann Otto Microscopy Fund is an endowment created to support efforts to continuously update and modernize our microscopes for the broadest use.   

General Biology Fund

A gift to the Biology Department will fund student research and travel to conferences, career networking opportunities, and a diversity of seminar speakers, including alumni, to speak directly with our students.  We have several important scholarships that support first-generation and underrepresented students.  We also have several student initiatives including the Biology Student Mentoring Program, which was initiated by our Student Ambassadors and is a diverse student-led network of Biology Department majors who will foster supportive and inclusive mentor/mentee relationships with the goal of increasing equitable access and retention in STEM.

$500
500th Donor Challenge!
Congratulations to IfeOluwa Akinrinade, our 500th donor who unlocked an additional $500 to the Eunice Segilola Akinrinade Scholarship!!
Completed
$500
1500th Donor Challenge!
Congratulations to Felix Gonzalez, our 1500th donor who unlocked an additional $500 to WWU Racing (Formula SAE)!!
Completed
$1,000
10th WWU Give Day. 10 donors. 10:10 pm.
Our first 10 donors starting at 10:10 pm on our 10th Give Day unlocked $100 each towards the area they chose to support. OUR WINNERS ARE: 1. Rene Vasa -- unlocked $100 for The Rage Magazine 2. Kathryn Hemmen -- unlocked $100 for Alpha Kappa Psi 3. Mackenzie Gerlach -- unlocked $100 for Women's Varsity Crew 4. Elena Korch -- unlocked $100 for Women's Ultimate 5. Joel Reitz -- unlocked $100 for Men's Rowing 6. Anonymous -- unlocked $100 for Alpha Kappa Psi 7. Perry Olix -- unlocked $100 for Men's Rowing 8. Sarina Freudmann -- unlocked $100 for Alpha Kappa Psi 9. Alexis Clark -- unlocked $100 for Women's Varsity Crew 10. Anonymous - unlocked $100 for Men's Rowing
Completed
Leaderboard
Breakfast of Champions!
Thank you for participating! Final results are in! Congratulations to: Marketing Concentration, Western Welcome Scholarship and Western Hub of Living Essentials (WHOLE) Food Pantry!
Rank Prize Breakfast of Champions! Donors
1 $1,000 Marketing Concentration 17
2 $500 Western Welcome Scholarship 12
3 $250 Western Hub of Living Essentials (WHOLE) Food Pantry 11
4 Student Emergency Fund 7
5 AS Alpha Kappa Psi 6
Ended
Leaderboard
Twilight Giving
Thank you for participating! Final results are in! Congratulations to: Ice Hockey, WWU Racing (Formula SAE) and Sociology!!
Rank Prize Twilight Giving Donors
1 $1,000 Ice Hockey 30
2 $500 WWU Racing (Formula SAE) 23
3 $250 Sociology Department 21
4 Men's Rowing 20
5 Western Hub of Living Essentials (WHOLE) Food Pantry 9
Ended
$500
1000th Donor Challenge!
Congratulations to Tami Bloom, our 1000th donor who unlocked an additional $500 to Men's Rowing!!
Completed
$1,000
10th WWU Give Day. 10 donors. 10:10 am.
Our first 10 donors starting at 10:10 am on our 10th Give Day unlocked $100 each towards the area they chose to support. OUR WINNERS ARE: 1. Ryan Mueller -- unlocked $100 for Men's Rowing 2. Shelley Jepson -- unlocked $100 for Men's Soccer 3. Anonymous - unlocked $100 for Marketing 4. Victoria Steed - unlocked $100 for Marketing 5. Faye Witulski - unlocked $100 for Water Skiing 6. Anonymous - unlocked $100 for Hockey 7. Jennifer Trainum - unlocked $100 for the Donnellan Scholarships 8. Stephanie Grimm - unlocked $100 for the Behavioral Neuroscience Program 9. Reagan Billingsley - unlocked $100 for Men’s Rowing 10. Anonymous - unlocked $100 for the Sailing Team!
10 / 10 Donors
Completed
Leaderboard
STEM Impact Challenge
Thank you for participating! Final results available after we process all Give Day gifts.
Rank Prize STEM Impact Challenge Donors
1 $500 Computer Science 51
2 $250 Biology 29
3 $100 Chemistry Department 29
4 Engineering and Design 14
5 Mathematics 12
Ended
Leaderboard
Lunchtime Crunchtime!
Thank you for participating! Final results are in! Congratulations to: Western Symphony Orchestra, Ice Hockey, and Men's Rowing!
Rank Prize Lunchtime Crunchtime Challenge! Donors
1 $1,000 Western Symphony Orchestra 51
2 $500 Ice Hockey 28
3 $250 Men's Rowing 26
4 AS Alpha Kappa Psi 9
5 Sailing Team 7
Ended
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