Biology Facilities and Equipment

The Biology Discipline operates primarily in Magruder Hall, which contains eight teaching laboratories, seating 20-24 students each, specifically for biology courses. Magruder Hall also houses all Biology faculty offices and research laboratories, most specialized instructional and research support facilities, six prep rooms adjoining teaching laboratories, and several lecture and discussion rooms that are shared with other disciplines. The Science Division also maintains a 130-acre research farm, with fenced and irrigated plots, about 2 km from campus. An Ecology Plot located about 4 km from campus provides a natural field site for instructional and research purposes. Research laboratories are equipped with instrumentation specific to each faculty member's research program, and a wide array of modern instrumentation for common use (such as ultracentrifuges, ultra-low temperature freezers, darkrooms, and research-grade microscopes) is found in Magruder Hall. The Division's policy is to allow student and faculty access to virtually all instrumentation and specialized facilities. Much of our equipment has been purchased since the legislatively mandated mission change in 1985, with institutional support as well as with funds from six NSF Instrumentation Grants during the past 15 years.

Magruder Hall includes an animal facility, a large greenhouse, a seed storage facility, scanning electron microscope and transmission electron microscope laboratories, three walk-in environmental chambers, and other specialized facilities. Computer facilities are provided in each faculty's office and/or laboratory, computer lab, and in several other campus locations. Truman's Pickler Memorial Library stands 50 m from Magruder Hall, employs two full-time science reference librarians, and has almost 100 biology journals. Students and faculty also have full privileges at Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine's library (1 km from Magruder Hall), with nearly 1000 holdings in biomedical science journals.