CCSU Offers Degrees in Bioimolecular Sciences
Connecticut’s Board of Governors for Higher Education has approved licensure and accreditation for Central Connecticut State University to offer Bachelor of Science and Master of Arts
degrees in Biomolecular Sciences. CCSU has established a Department of Biomolecular Sciences to administer the degree programs.
“These new programs will prepare undergraduates and graduate students to prepare for positions in many new and emerging fields,” said Valerie F. Lewis, Connecticut’s commissioner of Higher Education. “In Connecticut, where bioscience-based industries represent an important and growing sector of the state’s economy, the need for higher education in the molecular life sciences is particularly acute.”
CCSU’s Interim President, Dr. Robert N. Aebersold, noted, “One of our biggest challenges is to stay in touch with and even slightly ahead of societal changes that lead to new careers. CCSU’s new growth in biomolecular sciences is reinforced by research from CURE (Connecticut United for Research Excellence), our state’s bioscience cluster, which anticipates the number of state biological scientists will increase over 40 percent between now and 2008.”
According to Aebersold, CURE’s 9th Annual Economic Survey shows that this job growth translates into meaningful salaries, as the average wage for experienced bioscience employees is $80,000, which is 94 percent higher than the state’s overall wages for all industries. Entry-level positions typically start at $48,000- S50,000, and require at least a B.S. degree. And CCSU is in place to prepare Students for these in-state career opportunities.
“Housed in CCSU’s School of Technology, the new Department of Biomolecular Sciences builds on the strengths and experiences of a nucleus of six members of the former biological sciences department,” says Dr. Z.B. Kremens, dean of the School of Technology. “A ‘marriage’ of academic experience and state-of-the- art technology, will drive this program to success.”
Dr. Timothy Shine, who chairs the new department, while still heading CCSU’s chemistry department, says “While modern medicine and agriculture are obviously tied to recent advances in genetics and molecular biology, even such traditionally nonscience fields as law enforcement, ethics, computer science and public policy increasingly demand an understanding of biotechnology.”
According to Dr. Thomas R. King, professor of biomolecular sciences, “Since we introduced a focused molecular biology curriculum in 1999, about one in five of our graduates have gone on to professional training, dental, medical or veterinary school; about one in five enter medical-related programs (pharmacy or PA training), another 20 percent enter master’s or Ph.D. programs in the biomolecular sciences and just under 30 percent are employed in Connecticut’s bioscience industry. We expect to see this placement rate continue even as we hope to see our enrollments grow in the future.”"Our mission is to prepare undergraduates for advanced professional training in medicine, graduate study in such areas as genetics, microbiology, molecular biology or cell physiology; and for immediate entry into other careers that use the concepts and techniques of molecular and cellular biology,” said Dr. Kathy Martin- Troy, professor of biomolecular sciences.
Dr. Michael A. Davis, professor of biomolecular sciences, has mentioned students whose research was supported by CCSU’s Biotechnology Institute’s Scholars program. He notes, “The B.I. was formed to facilitate productive interactions between biomolecular sciences faculty and area biotechnology companies in order to enhance academic, research and outreach activities in the biomolecular sciences at CCSU. Input from the B.I.’s advisory board of biotech representatives helps CCSU faculty maintain curricular programs that are modern, relevant and responsive to the needs of these important local industries.”
The institute also serves as a clearinghouse for student internships at offcampus laboratories and is a center for activities that focus on enhancing student-centered research. Consequently, Connecticut based biotechs are more aware of CCSU’s quality academic programs in the biomolecular sciences, and of Central graduates as a local workforce resource.
The B.I. partnership enables CCSU faculty and the biotech industries to coordinate and increase community outreach efforts to recruit and prepare area middle and high school students for future educational and opportunities in the biomolecular sciences in Connecticut.
Copyright Business Times Mar 01, 2005