The following 3 courses I developed in their entirety, that is, in addition to creating the entire course experience, I had to go through the full University committee process to justify their addition as a part of our curriculum.  After they are listed, I list an 'other' category that includes one course that I have co-developed with colleague.  This 'Ecology and Evolution' course is under new revision each time it has been taught because we have not yet found that ideal mix of subject material and style.

Every other course already on the books that I have taught (11 total), I have in part or completely modified to fit my style of teaching and a particular emphasis, either my emphasis or the Department's desired emphasis.  Two examples of such courses I have recreated are the new 'Ecology' course (the old 'Bioecology' course) and 'Human Ecology' which were on our books when I arrived here in 1983.  Take a look at my web pages for my 'Ecology' course and my 'Human Ecology' course, neither of which I list below as 'developed' even though there is nothing in them from the old courses.

Human Ecological Science (web page) - I developed this course for the University Honors student at Loyola.  Knowledge of the natural science of Ecology is at the core to understanding the human impact on this planet. In my view all non science majors, should have a reasonable grasp of the natural science world.  That many students here at Loyola have a very poor grasp, is not in the tradition of a "liberalizing" education.

This course was designed to combine scientific knowledge and methodology with humanistic concerns by engaging students in both the classroom and field setting.  There also is a considerable writing component to the course. The "background" introductory material on the science of Ecology is covered at an accelerated pace to permit time for discussion of current and seminal issues on the ecology of humans. The first portion of the course is this introductory material with lectures and readings from popular books and scholarly works.  Building on this material, the remainder of the course, through directed faculty/student socratic discussion and writing exercises, delves into how humans impact the earth. After taking the course the honors student will see the world and their part in it forever differently.

One of the exciting experiences for students in this course are the several guided field trips into local ecosystems. Through field experience an understanding of the need of humans for nature can be initiated or deepened - a process that hopefully continues long after graduation.

This course meets 3 hrs per week and has 2 field trips on Friday of 4 hrs duration each and shorter trips on early morning of 1 - 2 class days. Total credit hrs is 3.0.  For more information see the web page.
 

Conservation Biology (web page) - I developed this course for the upper level biology major to modernize the curriculum in the area of "applied" Ecology.  I was convinced the department needed to better service our majors.  Through lecture, discussion, critical writing, demonstrations, and videos this course covers important and timely (state-of-the-world) material from the science of "Conservation Biology".  Conservation Biology is rooted in several sub disciplines in the biological sciences (Ecology, Evolution, Genetics).  Also, importantly, it is a blend of practical information from the social sciences and the worlds of business and economics. More specifically, much of the course addresses the human exploitation of the global ecosystem from a natural science based perspective. It is the only majors course I teach that benefits from in-depth discussion and at times free-form brainstorming - always though, grounded in the biological principles learned.

The course meets for 3 hrs lecture per week. There is one required field trip to Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and several writing assignments.  Total credit hrs is 3.0.  Please visit my web page for the course that presents a course syllabus and other valuable information.
 

Wetland Vegetation - I developed this course for students from both private and public universities of diverse backgrounds interested in learning basic ecology and botany of the common plant communities and plant species of the State's coastal and riverine wetlands.  The course was designed to be taught at LUMCON, a state-of-the-art marine lab located at Cocodrie, LA situated at the transition between saline marshes and brackish marshes. This ideal setting allows for intensive (daily) field experiences that range from purely 'botanizing' along roadsides to stream sides, to more organized comparative studies of several marsh types and flooded swamp forests.  Students in the course spend large amounts of time around and in boats, a valuable and often understated experience.  Long hours in the lab learning to identify plants using floras and their dichotomous keys is another skill learned by the student of the course.

This course has been taught one time.  It met daily at the LUMCON facility for two weeks, including weekends.

Other - Since my arrival at Loyola University New Orleans, I have significantly contributed to the development of two curricular revisions in the Biological Sciences.  Germane to this page are the several other courses that I developed in consultation with a large group of colleagues.  The courses are a part of the "core" curriculum in the Department of Biological Sciences.  Two courses are particularly worth mentioning by name only, 'Botanical Diversity' (a course no longer offered) and 'Organismal Biology Laboratory'.  In addition, the following course was developed with colleague, Dr. Craig Hood, who teaches a second section of it:

    Ecology and Evolution (web page) - I co-developed this majors course as a sophomore level introduction to the natural science disciplines of ecology and evolutionary biology.  It is the final course in the department's 4-course core sequence required of all majors.  The course is primarily lecture, but does include some discussion and two writing assignments.  It has been difficult to structure the course to cover these two significant disciplines within the time period of one semester.  The course meets for 3 hrs per week for 3.0 credit hours.  My web page for the course presents a course syllabus and other descriptive information both for the course in general and for the section I actually teach.