Dear Alumni,

It's such a privilege to write you as we have begun another year at Roberts Wesleyan College. As some of you are aware, we transitioned this summer from a division model to separate departments housed in two schools (School of Liberal Arts and Sciences and School of Professional Studies). Our former Division of Natural Science and Mathematics has now split into two departments (Department of Biological and Chemical Sciences and Department of Computer Science, Mathematics, and Physics). I am continuing to serve as Department Chair for the Department of Biological and Chemical Sciences, while Gary Raduns (mathematics) has moved into the role of Chair, Department of Computer Science, Mathematics, and Physics. Although we are functioning as two departments now, we are continuing to actively work together to provide regular interdisciplinary opportunities for our math and science students. Furthermore, we welcomed Stan Pelkey as the new Dean of the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences and are excited by his leadership and enthusiasm as we move forward with our new vision in the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

It is always exciting to see the campus come to life again with the arrival of new and returning students to campus. We welcomed approximately 45 new freshmen into the programs within the Department of Biological and Chemical Sciences. Of those new freshmen, we welcomed Bradley Ganschow (BIO/Pre-med) and Natalie Tang (BIO/BCH) as new Smith Scholars in the program. I'm always encouraged when I speak to the students new to campus and hear how blessed they feel to be studying at an institution where faculty and staff invest so much into the lives of students from day one. As I've said many times before, it is such a privilege to work here at Roberts with such wonderful faculty, staff, and students. Since our last newsletter, much has happened around the department. Many faculty members were involved in teaching summer courses, conducting research, and traveling to conferences. Additionally, students remained at Roberts for a portion of the summer to conduct research with faculty, while others took part in research programs at other universities. In this newsletter, we hope to give you a small snapshot of the exciting activities happening within the department.

God Bless Jason Taylor, Ph.D. Chair, Department of Biological and Chemical Sciences