Challenging. Dynamic. Unique. Six Questions with Six Faculty
Second in a three-part series | View parts one and three
In
August 2004, LSU launched “Challenging. Dynamic. Unique.,” a
new campaign to recruit undergraduate students. As part of the research
behind this project, staff members from the Office
of University Relations interviewed more than 100 students about their
experiences at LSU. The students were asked to identify faculty and members
of the campus community who had significantly influenced their undergraduate
careers. The faculty we chose to profile in this three-part series are
a small pool of those identified. This highlight is the second of the series.
The faculty highlighted in this series are:
Bill Wischusen, Associate Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, and Jean M. Rohloff, Instructor in the Department of English and Assistant Director of the Center for Community Engagement, Learning, & Leadership (CCELL).
Bill Wischusen
Associate
Professor, Department
of Biological Sciences
Hometown: Manchester, Massachusetts
Education: B.A., Clark University; M.S., University
of Alabama; Ph.D., Cornell University, 1990
First year at LSU: 1994
Research interests: Vertebrate ecology, especially the
ecology of birds and mammals, and science education
Courses taught: Introduction to Biology Lab, Biology for Science Majors
I and II, and General Biology
Why did the teaching position at LSU appeal to you? When I was offered the position as an assistant professor and the coordinator of the introductory biology program at LSU, I was given a broad mandate to improve the quality of the program. The opportunity to focus my efforts on improving the instruction across our introductory biology courses was very appealing.
It is not uncommon for your introductory-level biology courses to seat hundreds of students. Have you had to adapt your teaching methods, and what are the advantages of this situation? I have been teaching large-enrollment courses (enrollments of more than 200) for most of my professional career. As such, I have not had to adopt any new strategies. However, I am constantly looking for new ways to engage the students and to focus them on understanding the concepts.
The advantages of this setting are in the courses and experiences that
we can offer in our higher-level courses. It is not that teaching large
introductory courses is so good, but rather that when done correctly it
is just as good as a smaller course, and this then allows our department
to offer more upper-division courses and to offer smaller sections at that
level. 
Jean M. Rohloff
Instructor, Department
of English, and Assistant Director, Center
for Community Engagement, Learning, & Leadership (CCELL)
Hometown: Rhinelander, Wisconsin
Education: B.M.Ed., University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire,
1977; M.A. and Ph.D. in English Literature, University of Wisconsin-Madison,
1984 and 1991
First year at LSU: 1989
Research interests: writing pedagogy, service-learning,
and deaf education
Courses taught: American literature, women’s
literature, English composition
Your bachelor’s degree was in music education. What inspired you to change your career path and teach English? Although one of the biggest factors was that there were few jobs in secondary music education when I graduated, choosing whether to major in music or English had been a difficult decision. However, I always knew I wanted to teach. What and where were always secondary to that goal.
What did you find appealing about the opportunity to teach at LSU? Almost immediately, I fell in love with Baton Rouge and the surrounding area. As a “recovering Yankee,” I am still fascinated by the people, cultures, landscapes, and especially food, which are all so different from where I grew up in northern Wisconsin.
Here at LSU, I have found the campus beautiful, the staff and faculty
very collegial and generous, and the students enthusiastic, intelligent,
and always polite — I love that “Yes, Ma’am” thing!
Second in a three-part series | View parts one and three
Contact Teresa Devlin | LSU
University Relations
Highlights Team
Summer 2005
