THE COLLEGE

DARTMOUTH ALUMNI MAGAZINE PUBLISHED FOR THE ALUMNI OF DARTMOUTH COLLEGE

DARTMOUTH College's Departments of Botany and Zoology have been merged to form the Department of Biological Sciences. John H. Copenhaver Jr. '46, Professor of Zoology and Lecturer in Biochemistry, has been named chairman of the combined departments.

The departmental merger is the third and final step in bringing these closely related academic disciplines together. In 1959 an interdepartmental course called Life Science, serving as an introductory course for both Botany and Zoology, was offered. Last spring a new combined academic major in Biology was offered to the Class of 1963, replacing what had been the Botany, Zoology and Biology majors.

Professor Copenhaver said the change grew out of a conviction that studies of plant and animal life, especially on the undergraduate level, had much in common. Many of the laws and theories applicable to the study of plant cells are exactly the same as those related to animals and microbial cells. Students taking physiology courses in both Botany and Zoology would have been taught the same information twice, thus limiting the amount of time available for advanced work.

In addition, the combined department will permit maximum use of the faculty, development of additional technical support facilities, and simplification of the department's administration.