COSAM News Articles 2020 September COSAM's Commitment to the Student Experience – Robert Boyd

COSAM's Commitment to the Student Experience – Robert Boyd

Published: 09/29/2020

Robert Boyd interacts with students during his advanced Conservation Biology course, which includes 42 undergraduate students and eight graduate students.

In this session on September 22, students were working in groups while students also attended via Zoom.

Boyd finds ways to make his classes interactive and fun in the College of Sciences and Mathematics (COSAM). Students in small groups were listing factors that can lead to a species becoming extinct. They completed a game sheet where points were given for the facts. The group that had the highest total score received Melanotrichus boydi wallet cards as a reward, along with accolades from Boyd (for whom the insect is named in recognition of his research program).

“This fall semester, I have been continuing to engage with my students each week whether students are attending in-person or virtually,” Boyd explained. “COSAM is committed to preparing students for rewarding careers or professional school even during COVID-19.”

Boyd, who received the prestigious Gerald and Emily Leischuck Endowed Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching and a 2018-2019 Dean’s Faculty Service/Outreach Award, is COSAM’s Associate Dean for Academic Affairs.