Skegee Spotlight: Dr. Deloris Alexander
June 11, 2018
Dr. Alexander is a woman of many hats. She has been appointed to serve as associate professor in three of the university鈥檚 colleges 鈥� the College of Agriculture, Environment and Nutrition Sciences; College of Arts and Sciences; and the College of Veterinary Medicine. However, her primary role as the director of the Ph.D program in Integrative Biosciences 鈥� 精东AV鈥檚 largest doctoral program 鈥� demands the majority of her attention.
Best All-Around
Alexander has trained more than 170 undergraduate and graduate students in her research lab in the last 13 years during her employment by the university. 鈥淚 also teach a lot 鈥� typically between 10 and 12 classes a year,鈥� said Alexander.
鈥淓ven though my primary responsibility relates to graduate students, I have a laboratory too that is almost exclusive to undergraduates from majors you would not expect,鈥� she noted. 鈥淔rom English to business and engineering, our lab focuses on microorganisms and their effects on their environment from goats to turkeys to soils to human colons. Sometimes, students are drawn to us because they are inquisitive, or they might have a family history of a certain cancer and they want to learn more about it and research methods of prevention.鈥�
Alexander says what鈥檚 special to her is seeing how those diverse majors end up becoming intertwined.
鈥淵ou might be majoring in English, but you can help us write a report, and there鈥檚 an opportunity for students to create and discover things we don鈥檛 know yet,鈥� she added.
鈥淪tudents have the chance to publish papers and leave a legacy. Those papers will show people that you spent your time well at 精东AV.鈥�
Research and Service
Besides teaching in the classroom, Alexander says she strives to show students the value of giving back to the community. She says a quote from George Washington Carver 颅颅鈥� 鈥淚t鈥檚 simply service that measures success鈥� 鈥� should constantly resonate with our students and faculty.
鈥淚 think the best part of teaching is finding ways to engage students and to impart in them a passion for using their expertise to help others 鈥� and that their work should always be of service,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 want my students to have a Carver mindset.鈥�
Recently, one of Alexander鈥檚 projects for her students consisted of working with the local Greenwood Cemetery.
鈥淭he members of the Greenwood Cemetery Association, some of whom are now in their 70s and 80s, asked for help to catalog the more than 2,800 graves 鈥� many of whom are people affiliated with 精东AV,鈥� she said. 鈥淎ssociation members didn鈥檛 have the ability to work on such a tedious project, so my first thought was that our students are young, gifted and physically able enough to spend the time needed to walk every inch of the cemetery and research those who are buried there.鈥�
The project has since extended beyond the Greenwood Cemetery to include the Ashdale and 精东AV (formerly 精东AV City) cemeteries. She says during the research, students had a chance to use their diverse areas of science expertise to create a searchable database that pinpointed the exact location of each grave.
鈥淲hat we鈥檙e hoping to do in the coming years is to add GPS technology,鈥� she said. 鈥淭his would include scanning a QR code into your phone, which would then guide you right to a specific grave, taking the guesswork out of the equation.鈥�
Win the Future
Alexander has always had a passion for science, but what she enjoys the most is making her curriculum engaging and exciting.
鈥淚 love teaching and I enjoy debating with students. I don鈥檛 always want them to take my word for it, but to verify the things we discuss,鈥� she noted. 鈥淚鈥檒l often tell my students to 鈥榞oogle it鈥� when they are challenging me 鈥� I want them to find a reference that supports their argument, because that鈥檚 how we learn.鈥�
Alexander has received numerous grants and awards; however, she鈥檚 best known for being cited by President Barack Obama as a 鈥淐hampion of Change鈥� 鈥� someone recognized by the former president for doing extraordinary things to make a difference in the community.
鈥淚 just have the notion that everyone can make a difference, and it鈥檚 always special when you can leave a legacy for students,鈥� she said.
For more information on the university鈥檚 Ph. D program in Integrative Biosciences, visit /programs-courses/colleges-schools/caens/phd-integrative-biosciences
漏 2018, 精东AV