Purdue University could teach science course at biostation
Aaron Hummel
Issue date: 10/11/07 Section: News
Purdue University professors may be teaching Hillsdale College students about ecology and natural resources management at the Rockwell Lake Biostation as early as spring of 2009, Associate Professor of Biology Anthony Swinehart said last week.
The Hillsdale biology department is talking with Purdue about the possibility of moving its intensive, five-week Forestry and Natural Resources Practicum course to Hillsdale's biostation in Luther, Mich., in a partnership to encourage collaboration between Purdue graduates and Hillsdale undergraduates, Swinehart said.
The main advantage of this agreement is that students could take courses that aren't offered at Hillsdale because it doesn't have enough qualified faculty or interested students to make the courses worthwhile, Biology Department Chairman Frank Steiner said.
"We do have interested students, we just don't have very many," he said. "So it would basically be additional resources and opportunities available to our students. That's the important thing."
Forestry, Wildlife or Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences make up the curriculum options students can choose, according to a Purdue pamphlet.
Sophomore Katie Christiansen is excited about the possibility of supplementing her biology major with classes from Purdue faculty who are focused on the natural resources.
"I want to study at the biostation anyway, so I'd love to be able to study with students from other schools," she said. "I think as a biology major who is interested in natural resources, I should take advantage of that opportunity, and I want to."
"As we develop this relationship, it's going to generate research interest in the property," Swinehart said. "So we might have their graduate students staying after the five-week class to do research, and they may work with our undergraduates as well."
In addition to encouraging joint research between Hillsdale and Purdue students, this partnership will build Hillsdale's reputation among graduate schools, making it easier for students to get accepted, Swinehart said.
By moving its 70-year-old summer course to the Rockwell Lake station, Purdue would acquire a more suitable location for long term research projects because the biostation is privately owned, Swinehart said. Currently, the university conducts the camp at a Lutheran church facility in Wisconsin near the border of Michigan's Upper Peninsula.
Having a facility specifically devoted to biological research would improve the quality of the curriculum that Purdue could offer, Swinehart said.
Although the course will partially overlap Hillsdale's second semester, Swinehart anticipates that students will be permitted to join the course after Hillsdale classes are over, he said. Students would probably earn one credit hour per each week they attended the course.
If the partnership works, the resulting revenue will fund the maintenance and operation of the Rockwell Lake facility, Vice President of Administration Rich Péwé said.
The Hillsdale biology department is talking with Purdue about the possibility of moving its intensive, five-week Forestry and Natural Resources Practicum course to Hillsdale's biostation in Luther, Mich., in a partnership to encourage collaboration between Purdue graduates and Hillsdale undergraduates, Swinehart said.
The main advantage of this agreement is that students could take courses that aren't offered at Hillsdale because it doesn't have enough qualified faculty or interested students to make the courses worthwhile, Biology Department Chairman Frank Steiner said.
"We do have interested students, we just don't have very many," he said. "So it would basically be additional resources and opportunities available to our students. That's the important thing."
Forestry, Wildlife or Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences make up the curriculum options students can choose, according to a Purdue pamphlet.
Sophomore Katie Christiansen is excited about the possibility of supplementing her biology major with classes from Purdue faculty who are focused on the natural resources.
"I want to study at the biostation anyway, so I'd love to be able to study with students from other schools," she said. "I think as a biology major who is interested in natural resources, I should take advantage of that opportunity, and I want to."
"As we develop this relationship, it's going to generate research interest in the property," Swinehart said. "So we might have their graduate students staying after the five-week class to do research, and they may work with our undergraduates as well."
In addition to encouraging joint research between Hillsdale and Purdue students, this partnership will build Hillsdale's reputation among graduate schools, making it easier for students to get accepted, Swinehart said.
By moving its 70-year-old summer course to the Rockwell Lake station, Purdue would acquire a more suitable location for long term research projects because the biostation is privately owned, Swinehart said. Currently, the university conducts the camp at a Lutheran church facility in Wisconsin near the border of Michigan's Upper Peninsula.
Having a facility specifically devoted to biological research would improve the quality of the curriculum that Purdue could offer, Swinehart said.
Although the course will partially overlap Hillsdale's second semester, Swinehart anticipates that students will be permitted to join the course after Hillsdale classes are over, he said. Students would probably earn one credit hour per each week they attended the course.
If the partnership works, the resulting revenue will fund the maintenance and operation of the Rockwell Lake facility, Vice President of Administration Rich Péwé said.
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