Feature Alum: Christopher Barney

1973 B.S.
Professor of Biology, Hope College, Holland, Mich.

"You learn biology by doing biology."

That's the teaching philosophy of Christopher Barney, the T. Elliot Weier Professor of Biology at Hope College in Holland, Michigan. Barney got his first exposure to research as an undergraduate at Wright State University. "That was just a tremendous experience! I felt really important because I had a key to a research lab, plus I had my own project." He says WSU's Dr. Noel Nussbaum provided the right amount of guidance while allowing him to do his own research.

"When I began looking for a faculty position after completing my Ph.D., I was attracted to positions where I had an opportunity to involve undergraduates in research," Barney says. "I had enjoyed it so much, I wanted to give the opportunity to others."

Favorite Quote: "Live as if you were to die tomorrow; learn as if you were to live forever." Gandhi

Last Book Read: Bloodroot, Jackie Bartley

Future Plans: To teach and advise students, and continuing my research in regulatory physiology. I also plan to lower my golf score, but not all plans come to fruition.