Program administration and governance

Graduate faculty in the CB Program contribute to the program by teaching CB courses, advising CB students, serving on graduate student examining and SAC committees, or serving on CB program committees. New graduate faculty members are added to the program by nomination by any CB faculty member and are approved by the CB Steering Committee. A current list of CB graduate faculty members can be found on the program website. The graduate faculty has primary responsibility for administration of the program through meetings held at least once a semester and called by the Director of Graduate Studies.

The Conservation Biology Program is led by two faculty members, the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) and the Director of Admissions (DA). The DGS is responsible for the daily administration of the program and for communication between the Graduate School and the CB faculty and current students. The DGS chairs the Steering Committee and oversees the Prelim Committee as an ex-officio member. The DA is responsible for communication with prospective students, recruiting, and admissions. The DA chairs the Admissions Committee.

Three standing committees are responsible for governing the CB program: the Steering Committee, the Admissions Committee, and the Preliminary (Prelim) Exam Committee. The Steering Committee is comprised of 9 faculty members (DGS, preceding DGS, Prelim Chair, Admissions Chair, Fisheries Track Coordinator, 4 at-large) and 1 student member (elected by the students). The Steering Committee brings significant policy issues to the faculty at large, assists the DGS with administering funds, makes policy decisions between faculty meetings, recommends and nominates candidates for DGS and other committees, and forms ad hoc committees as needed.

The Admissions Committee develops, reviews and maintains application procedures, solicits applications, recruits students to the program, reviews applications for admission to the program, seeks advisors for applicants, selects and nominates prospective students for Graduate School Fellowships, and recommends students for financial support from other sources. The Admissions Committee comprises 3-4 faculty appointed by the DGS.

The Prelim Committee administers the written preliminary examination for doctoral students. This committee facilitates the formation of student groups, provides each group with directions needed to prepare for the written exam, is responsible for CBio 8095, reviews the paper and generates the exam questions, and evaluates the exam responses determining the final outcomes. The Prelim Committee consists of 3-4 faculty members (with representation from both the natural sciences and the social sciences).