Biology

I grew up in Minnesota, spending as much time as possible at the family cabin hunting, fishing, and poking around in streams. I took my interest in nature to the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point, where I majored in Limnology and studied the effects of an invasive crayfish on aquatic insect populations. Publishing my senior thesis project was one of the best experiences that I’ve ever had. It ignited my interest in scientific research and inspired me to share this experience with others. After completing a master’s degree at the University of North Texas, I came back to the Midwest to finish my education at the University of Minnesota. My Ph.D. involved collecting and analyzing aquatic insect populations from throughout Minnesota’s diverse assemblage of lakes and streams (they paid me to go camping). After graduation in 2002, I took a position teaching biology at Lynchburg College in Virginia. I resigned that position in 2005 to teach at Hillsdale.

My research students and I study aquatic organisms and what their populations can tell us about natural and anthropogenic differences in habitat quality. Ultimately, we can predict water pollution and land use based on these populations. We are fortunate to have one of the most pristine places in the lower peninsula of Michigan (the college biological station) to do such work.

My favorite class by far is Ecology (BIO 250) during summer term at the college biological station. Taking students out in the field every day for three weeks and showing them how nature actually works is far superior to anything that can be done in a classroom. I also love teaching Honors seminars because they take me a little out of my comfort zone.

This summer I had six students working on their senior thesis projects with me. The degree of maturity that they displayed was remarkable. There were times when I forgot that they were students; they felt more like professional colleagues. I had known some of these students since they were timid 18-year-old freshmen, walking on to campus for the first time. Thus, the degree of maturation and change that had occurred during the last four years was incredibly satisfying to see.

I also enjoy the letters that I receive from former students telling me that their classes in medical or graduate school are easier than the classes they took at Hillsdale. To me, this makes it clear that challenging the students now prepares them well for the next step in their education.

Students have tremendous and diverse opportunities for success due to our combination of technical sophistication and a classical liberal arts curriculum. We have a lot of the equipment and facilities (field station, cadaver lab, arboretum, aquatics lab, gene sequencing lab, several instrumentation labs, etc.) that are typically found at larger schools. Unlike at larger schools, however, our students actually get to use them. Our students can publish their senior thesis projects in professional journals. They can get into medical school while studying Latin or Greek. They can run a gene sequencer and discuss Plato’s Republic. Our graduates can list the articles of the Constitution regardless of their chosen major. Look around; these combinations of attributes are not found at many other schools.

First, college life is filled with distractions. Set your priorities and stay focused on them. Second, get to know your professors. Most of us are actually pretty nice, and it is a lot easier to write you successful letters of recommendation if we know you outside of class. Third, take advantage of the opportunities that you have here. Study. Conduct research. Work as a teaching assistant or in a professor’s lab. Learn to speak a foreign language or play a musical instrument. Opportunities abound. Just don’t forget the first piece of advice.

The best students here are the best students that I’ve seen anywhere. They are thoughtful, hard-working, and have very high standards for every part of their lives. They are the sort of people that you can trust with your children, or your car keys.

dhoughton@hillsdale.edu