The Biological Sciences Department at City College of San Francisco is looking to develop partnerships to support our mission.

The Biological Sciences Department at City College of San Francisco is looking to develop partnerships with individuals, businesses and organizations able to assist us in our goals of providing courses and experiences that expand student鈥檚 knowledge and appreciation of the human body, the natural world of living organisms and the place of humans in it. In the Biology Department we teach a broad-based curriculum that presents the complexity and multidisciplinary nature of biology to an incredibly diverse student population while focusing on the development of students observational and analytical skills. The diversity in gender, race, age, educational background and academic aspirations of our students inspires us to create programs that are both wide in scope and rich in detail. Our goal is to provide an understanding and appreciation of biology among all our students and community and to inspire further study.

With that goal in mind we offer many different services, from traditional lecture based instruction to laboratory, and field based classes, as well as work study experiences, internships and seminars. We offer AS degrees in Biological Science and Environmental Science as well as provide for transfer requirements for students seeking four year degrees or entrance into professional or vocational programs in medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, veterinary, allied health, environmental technology and hotel and restaurant management. We enroll over 6000 students each semester in over 125 class sections. We benefit from a well deserved reputation for quality instruction leading to an increased enrollment and demand for our classes. In order to meet this demand we are seeking your help.

 

Current Needs:

  • Money to increase class offerings; our ability to offer a class is currently determined by supply not demand. Donations are needed to save impacted classes that have been removed due to budget cuts.
  • Classroom AV upgrades; we are currently in the process of bringing the 1935 Building that houses the majority of our classrooms and laboratories up to the standard of the current millennia. It has been left to the individual departments to fund the audiovisual equipment upgrades. We are seeking help in reaching our goal of all our teaching spaces equipped with the capacity to present digital media to our students. Currently only
  • Laboratory Equipment; we are in need of a set of dissection microscopes and a replacement/ upgrade of our compound microscopes (many of which appear to be surplus stock from the Second World War). We would be happy to partner with any scientific equipment manufacturers or industries that can provide updated basic laboratory equipment including pipettes, stir plates, incubators, centrifuges gel boxes, cameras etc.
  • Anatomy Models & Cadavers; we provide basic and advanced anatomy instruction to hundreds of students each term. For many students introduction to Human Anatomy is the first step on their path to a career in healthcare or medicine. Unfortunately for most it is not the first time the specimens and models they are studying are being used. Human cadavers which are essential to the high quality and specific detail of our instruction cost ~$3000 each. Our current budget does not cover these recurring expenses and our fixed collection of models is in need of replacement.
  • Student Computer Access; we are currently looking for help in equipping our classrooms and laboratories with greater computer access for our students. Many of our more current teaching methodologies involve online tools and interactive smart classroom technologies. We are looking for help in developing and integrating digital access into our teaching laboratories.
  • The Biology Resource Center; The Biology Department operates a study hall open to biology students with resources tailored to their needs. This currently unfunded resource is housed within the science Building close to the Main campus laboratories and classrooms and is in need of educational materials, instructional equipment and computers and printers for our students use.

If you are in a position to help as an individual or institution, or have contacts within an organization that might be interested in partnering with us please make a tax deductible donation to the department or contact the Department Chair.