BOB TATINA

Hometown: Chicago

Education: B.S. in Ed. (Northern Illinois University), M.A. in Zoology and Ph.D. in Botany (Southern Illinois University)

Courses Taught: General Biology I, General Biology II, several plant courses

How many years at DWU? 32 (retired in May 2007)

Hobbies and interests: photography, hiking, biking

Describe yourself in three words.
Dedicated, inventive, nature-loving

Why Wesleyan?
When I was hired, it was people (like Bill Houk, Loran Hills and Faith Hubbard) that made the place warm and inviting. Over the years I found that it was also a place that offered a variety of growth opportunities (designing and constructing labs, planting gardens, establishing an arboretum, designing and building lab teaching tools, researching and publishing) to explore.

What has been your most important experience at DWU?
Teaching field ecology in the Black Hills with Bill Houk

What’s your funniest memory?
In a general biology lab when we were studying the eye, I had some cow eyes out for dissection. Toward the end of class I was ready to put the unused eyes away, so I asked the students if they were done so that I could store the eyes. “Keep an eye out for me,” was the response from one student.

Greatest “ah-ha” moment:
In a general biology lecture, I learned from a student that learning is more important than teaching. This happened when one student asked a question. While I was composing an answer, a second student raised his hand and said, “I think I can answer that.” Because I cherished student-initiated questions due to their rarity, I was a little miffed that the second student would trespass into my domain. But after a brief moment of reflection, I yielded to him and he did an outstanding job of answering the question.

I value ...
that hard work which gives a sense of accomplishment. The kind that when it’s done you can pause, look back and then say “good.”

I never imagined ...
that 30-some years at DWU could be so gratifying and yet so fleeting. I came to DWU as a one-year replacement and hoped at the end of that year that I would be rehired so that I could improve on my first year’s teaching.

What’s next?
Vacationing along Lake Michigan, traveling, some research and some plant collecting.