History of the Department
The 1950's
When the college first opened, biology faculty formed part of the Agriculture Department. By 1953, the biology faculty were included with faculty from the physical sciences to form a Science Department. Dr. Cortland Mapes, a parasitologist, was the first biology instructor and would later be the first biology department chair in 1963. He was the primary author of the two lab manuals which would continue to be used for the Human Biology and Anatomy and Physiology courses for almost 50 years. The Human Biology courses were prerequisites for OCCC's nursing program, the first two year nursing program in the country.
Dr. Ray Wood was hired in 1957 and he would be a dominant figure from the 1960s onward when the biology department was included with all the allied health programs to make the Health Sciences Division which he served as the first (and only) division chair. He was also the faculty advisor of the Agassiz Society when it began in 1958.
All college classes were originally held in the mansion (Morrison Hall). Hudson Hall was built in 1955 and biology lectures and labs were held here. The Agassiz Society, formed in 1958, met here as well.
The 1960's
Dr. Mapes became the first department chair and Dr. Wood became the division chair of the Division. As the number of college students mushroomed in the 1960s, the biology department grew quickly, gaining valuable faculty members such as Dr. Knowlton, Mr. Tom Alford, Mr. Martin Borko, and Mr. Collis Miller. The biology department, which had included the faculty of the medical lab technician program, split to give rise to the separate Med Lab Tech Department. Mr. Richard Mazzone joined the medical lab tech department and would later serve the college in a variety of positions including biology department chair.
The 1970's
The decade opened with Dr. John Tramontano joining the department. Dr. Knowlton replaced Dr. Mapes as biology department chair. The department experimented with holding large lecture sections of General Biology and Human Biology which were team taught. Courses were constantly reevaluated and some, such as the Medical Office Procedures course, were dropped.
The biology department helped design the third floor of the Bio-Tech Building which was built in 1972, the last building to be built in the SUNY system in a period of rapid expansion. Changes in the Associate in Arts requirements caused a drop in the number of students enrolled in biology courses.
The 1980's
There were a few major revisions of biology courses during this decade, reflecting the changing nature of biological and health fields. In 1985, the General Biology course became a prerequisite for biology majors (prior to this, the course served non-majors while majors took Botany 1 & 2 and Zoology 1 & 2). As the decade ended, there were changes in the allied health programs at OCCC. A new radiology department was added and the nursing department revised the courses that it required as prerequisites. This required reevaluation of the Human Biology course and a major revision of the Anatomy and Physiology courses (which up to that point had prepared students for the PTA and OTA programs) as the department tried to give students the best preparation for their future careers. Courses in environmental conservation and oceanography were developed. Mrs. Darlene Bowser became the department's technical assistant.
The 1990's
Mr. Richard Mazzone and Mr. Marty Borko served as Department Chairs during the 1990s. In 1992, the department received a grant which enabled the creation of a computer learning lab, now called the BATCAVERN. Mr. Alford took on much of the responsibility to secure this and other projects made possible by the grant. A new course meant to introduce remedial students to biological concepts was developed. Mrs. Rosamaria Contarino became the department's technical assistant and Mrs. Arlene Stefane became the department secretary.