we believe reflected the formal and informal changes made over the prior two years. In 2012 we collected
no data on this SLO. In 2013 and 2014, performance again showed a decline, and the faculty decided to
monitor performance for another year as perhaps some of the programmatic changes still need time to take
effect. This is really the single performance element that shows multiple years of poor performance (low
numbers of students performing at levels 4 or 5). However, the majority of students are performing at the
level of “adequate” (3 or above). This year, the faculty will also discuss the levels of expectation for our
programs and potentially re-evaluate how we expect our students to perform.
8. AFFIRMATIVE ACTION
The low numbers of under-represented students among those enrolled in our graduate programs
remains a central concern of our department. While we have seen growth in the population of Hispanic
and international students in the program, we continue to struggle to recruit African American students. A
description of our efforts to improve this situation is presented in section 7.b above, and we believe
strongly that we must continue to strive to enhance the diversity of our graduate student body. This goal is
aligned with our university’s strategic goals.
UNCW Strategic Goal #3: Embrace and enhance diversity throughout the university's
constituencies, culture, curriculum and outreach activities. Cultural, racial, ethnic and global
diversity are fundamental to the mission of the university and are essential elements of an
atmosphere of openness and free inquiry upon which teaching and learning rest. The measure of
diversity lies not in maintaining certain percentages of minorities or even in representing the
regional population, but rather ensuring a critical mass of historically under-represented groups to
promote cross cultural and racial understanding, to break down racial stereotypes, to enliven class
discussions, to enable students to understand persons of different backgrounds, and to prepare
students with leadership skills for success in an increasingly diverse workforce.Although we have much work ahead of us, we also have renewed hope that our university’s
commitment to enhancing diversity, our Chair’s leadership in seeking out collegial partnerships with one
of our sister institutions, and our small but growing alumni of under-represented students, will help propel
us to a more diverse student body and faculty. We believe that the university’s recent efforts to increase its
financial commitment to enhancing diversity is of paramount importance to achieving this goal, and we
strongly support enhancing this investment at all levels. Our University’s Equal Employment Opportunity
Affirmative Action Plan is included as Appendix 7.
9. SUMMARY OF RESEARCH AND SCHOLARSHIP OF THE DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY
AND MARINE BIOLOGY 2007 – 2014
a. INTRODUCTION
The scholarship and research activity of the faculty of the Department of Biology and Marine
Biology has grown significantly since the previous program review, with increases in external funding,
peer-reviewed publications, and presentations at national and international meeting. Inclusion of graduate
and undergraduate students in scholarship has also risen considerably (see Section 7: Graduate student
performance measures).