V. Thomas Parker

Tom Parker's Plant Ecology class was one of the most challenging classes I took as an undergraduate. He didn't do what many people do when teaching science, which is to disgorge fact after fact - that we students were then supposed to memorize. That's not to say that we were not expected to remember what was going on in class - far from it. Instead, Dr. Parker tried to give us an overview of the discipline, concentrating on what's going on now. In our three papers and three tests, he wasn't looking for one right answer, but instead wanted us to craft a well thought out argument in favor of one position or another. In other words Dr. Parker wanted us to think.

Dr. Parker obviously enjoys being a biologist, and wants us to enjoy it too. Someone deciding to take a class from him should expect to work hard but have a good time.