{"id":1755,"date":"2025-04-23T10:34:59","date_gmt":"2025-04-23T14:34:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/department-of-biology\/?page_id=1755"},"modified":"2025-04-23T10:34:59","modified_gmt":"2025-04-23T14:34:59","slug":"bioluminesence-march-2025","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/department-of-biology\/about\/bioluminesence-march-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Bioluminesence (March 2025)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Distinguished Teaching Award Presented to Kathryn Lionetti<\/h2>\n\n\n
\"Woman
Recipient of the 2023 Distinguished
Teaching Award, Kathryn Lionetti<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Department of Biology was thrilled to have Kathryn Lionetti, Ph.D., honored as the recipient of the 2023 Distinguished Teaching Award. This award recognizes sustained excellence in teaching and a commitment to engaging and transforming educational experiences for students. Lionetti regularly teaches general microbiology, the introduction to cellular and molecular biology, and the introductory first-year seminar for biology majors. She was instrumental in the department for the creation of the writing-intensive capstone laboratory in molecular and cellular biology and has also developed a non-majors microbiology course as well. During the Covid pandemic, Lionetti made an impossible situation become possible\u2013the microbiology course was taught remotely, with laboratory materials and microscopes coordinated and provided for students under her direction so that they could work from home. For over 30 years at Monmouth University, she has supported students through her teaching and advising. Upon receiving the award, Lionetti offered these remarks: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThanks go to my students whom I learn from everyday. They challenge me and make me strive to be my best.I love teaching. When students enter my class, I tell them we will learn a lot and we will have fun together. My philosophy about teaching is embodied by the William Butler Yeats quote that says ‘Teaching is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.’ To me, teaching is about getting students excited to learn. It\u2019s about getting them to think and think critically. It\u2019s about getting them to believe in themselves, to be true to themselves, to find themselves and to love themselves.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Kathryn Lionetti with her husband
Jeffrey Goldfarb,
and her two sons, Matthew
and Jonathan.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

“I\u2019m here teaching because I truly care about my students. I strive to create a safe space for them where they can reach their full potential. Expectations for the courses I teach are high and to help students reach them, much support is provided. In addition to my help in and out of the classroom, and the support materials I provide for them, I make sure Peer Assisted Learning Leaders and tutors are available for students. I encourage them to utilize these resources as well as their advisor, master tutors, peer mentors and Counseling and Prevention Services. It is not easy to be a student. Often demanding work schedules, sometimes with 30+ hours a week, demanding athletic schedules along with family and other pressures make it difficult for students to have the proper balance for a healthy, happy college experience. The COVID pandemic brought its own set of challenges.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It is even more important now for students to feel cared for and connected to one another, to faculty, and to all Monmouth University personnel. When they feel cared for, they can, in turn, care for others. When they learn to be connected, they will reach out and connect to others in their lives beyond Monmouth. If we didn\u2019t already see how important being connected to others and feeling cared for was for our success and happiness in the world before the pandemic, it is certainly evident now. Making students and each other feel cared for and connected doesn\u2019t have to involve enormous or grandiose efforts. Simply asking ‘How are you doing today?’ goes a long way.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Microbiology is about small things that can have big effects. Each one of us can be that to a student and to each other. Together we can catch them when they fall and lift them up so they can soar.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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James Mack Honored for More Than 50 Years of Service to Monmouth University<\/h2>\n\n\n
\"Man
James Mack, Ed.D.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In 1962, John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth, the Cuban Missile Crisis took place, and the average price of gasoline was 31 cents per gallon. 1962 was also the year that James Mack, Ed.D., began instructing students at Monmouth University, and he is now in his 53rd year of service. A 1962 graduate of Monmouth University, Mack went on to receive his Master\u2019s degree Biology from William Paterson University and a doctoral degree in cell biology from Columbia University. He also worked as a licensed high school teacher at Shore Regional High School and Lakewood High School, and in adjunct positions at Brookdale Community College and Ocean County College and was honored for 40 years of service to OCC in 2013. He has witnessed the rise of Monmouth University in the community, watching it grown into a four-year college and then a University. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mack has memories of the swimming pool outside of the Great Hall (and the inside one), the filming of the movie \u201cAnnie\u201d, and the transition into a University. An integral part of the Monmouth community, Mack spearheaded the creation of the Monmouth Early Warning (MEWS) system and founded the pre-professional health advisory committee in 1984, serving as the Director of Pre-health advising for 38 years. He has served on numerous committees and task forces over the years (if there has been a committee on an issue, he has been a part of it during his years here). This service has included (but is not limited to) 7 years as Chair of Faculty Council, search committees for multiple administrators (including the committee for hiring of President Gaffney), and coordinating the Anatomy and Physiology courses. He has over 55 publications and presentations from his research program with undergraduate students. Most recently, he has been studying the antibacterial effects of essential oils and has collaborated with Lobo on studying the effects of essential oils on stress signaling in cancer cells. The 2014 winner of the Distinguished Teaching Award, Mack\u2019s passion is the teaching of anatomy and physiology, which he typically has multiple sections of lecture and laboratory for these courses during the academic year and in the summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
James Mack with his student Erin Cieslak<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Here is a snapshot of some of Mack\u2019s achievements:<\/p>\n\n\n\n