Dalhousie University. Faculty of Science. Department of Biology

Corporate body (Dalhousie University)

Dalhousie University. Faculty of Science. Department of Biology

• Dalhousie University. Faculty of Arts and Science. Department of Biology (1931-1988)

1931-

The Department of Biology was formally established in 1931 when Hugh Bell, Professor of Botany (pictured above), was appointed as its inaugural chair. However, correspondence within the Presidents Office fonds written on Department of Biology letterhead exists from 1914. The first lecturer in biology was hired in the Faculty of Medicine in 1905, and by 1907 the position was also listed in the University Calendar under the Faculty of Arts and Science. By 1911 biology was significant enough to warrant the hiring of an assistant professor, Clarence Moore, and the early 1920s James Dawson was appointed full professor. In 1932, zoologist Dixie Pelleut was hired in the Biology Department and became one of the first two women to hold professorial appointments at Dalhousie.

The Department of Biology is located in the Life Sciences Building on Dalhousie's Studley Campus.

The Department of Biology offers courses of study leading to a BSc or BA in Biology and a BSC or BA in Marine Biology, including major, honours and co-op programs. The department also participates in Dalhousie's Integrated Science Program (DISP) as well as Faculty of Science certificate programs in Animal Behaviour, Aquaculture and the Environment, Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), Genetics, Geographic Information Science (GIS), and Science Leadership and Communication. Biology students have the opportunity to participate in research and experiential learning, including summer fieldwork courses, and the department facilitates international exchange programs. At a graduate level, the Department of Biology offers a two-year MSc program and a four-year PhD program with a focus on the following research themes: Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology; Ecology and Evolution; Genetics and Genomics; and Marine Biology.

The department supports a diverse set of research activities, including the Ocean Tracking Network, a global environmental research initiative that monitors the movements and migrations of marine animals as well as the ocean conditions that affect them.

The basic statute relating to Dalhousie University is Chapter 24 of the Acts of 1863. This statute replaced earlier statutes, and the 1863 statute itself has been amended and supplemented several times over the years. The provisions of these various statutes provide for the establishment and regulation of the university, the membership of the Board of Governors and its rights and powers, the authority of senate for the internal regulation of the university (subject to the approval of the board), and various other matters.

The Department of Biology is within the Faculty of Science. It has a term chair appointed from among its faculty: in 2021 there are 25 professors and 12 instructors or teaching fellows supported by 11 technical and four administrative staff members. The department also employs a number part-time academics and adjunct research assoicates.

Dalhousie University. Faculty of Science (1988-)

Leonard, Marty

McLaren, Ian Alexander (1931-)

Pelluet, Dixie (1896-1990)

Bell, Hugh Philip (1889-1957)