The Department of Biology was founded in 1858 when George Lawson was appointed ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ first professor of Natural History and Chemistry. Previously, students had studied botany as part of their studies in Natural Philosophy. Since the 19th century, Biology at ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ has grown from a largely observational discipline into an experimental science.
As part of the Faculty of Arts and Science, the department offers a comprehensive range of undergraduate and graduate courses in the physiology, anatomy, behaviour, origin, and distribution of animals and plants and conducts extensive research in all of these areas. Environmental monitoring and protection have become an increasingly important part of the department's work in recent years.
The Department also has a field station, , on more than 5,000 acres at Lake Opinicon north of Kingston.
The department moved into its own building, Earl Hall, in 1965 and into the attached $52 million BioSciences Complex in 1996. The complex features modernized laboratories and lecture halls, as well as a facility to help university researchers test new products and launch them into the market place.
For more on the department's history, see ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ Biology by B.N. Smallman, H.M. Good, and A.S. West.
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