About the Department of Microbiology

Mission and Goals

The mission of the Department of Microbiology is to educate and train students in the discipline of Microbiology and to expand the body of knowledge of this scientific field through research. The specific goals of the Department are to:

1. offer courses within Miami's liberal education program to enhance the intellectual foundation and preparation of students for life in a complex, dynamic technological world;
2. offer undergraduate majors in Microbiology (MBI) and Medical Laboratory Science (MLS), and partner with other departments to offer minors in Molecular Biology and Bioinformatics, to prepare students for professional schools, graduate education, for careers in clinical microbiology, and for careers in basic, environmental and biomedical research;
3. prepare graduate students (M.S. and Ph.D.) with in-depth knowledge and research skills for professional careers in Microbiology;
4. enhance opportunities for research and scholarship for faculty members as well as undergraduate and graduate students;
5. preserve, add to, evaluate, and transmit knowledge in the field of Microbiology; and
6. serve society by promoting science in Ohio's schools.

Statement of Commitment

The Department of Microbiology is committed to promoting inclusivity of undergraduate students, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, departmental staff, and faculty members. Our current students, staff, and faculty come from a variety of backgrounds and cultures. We each bring our unique viewpoints and life experiences to our research, our work, and our teaching, to create an inclusive environment based upon an atmosphere of mutual respect and positive engagement. Our intellectual and social interactions are greatly enriched by embracing our backgrounds and the backgrounds of others.

Miami University declares...

• That it will educate students by means of free, open, and rigorous intellectual inquiry to seek the truth.
• That its duty is to equip students with the opportunity to develop the intellectual skills they need to reach their own, informed conclusions.
• Its commitment to not requiring, favoring, disfavoring, or prohibiting speech or lawful assembly.
• It is committed to create a community dedicated to an ethic of civil and free inquiry, which respects the autonomy of each member, supports individual capacities for growth, and tolerates the differences in opinion that naturally occur in a public higher education community. AND
• That its duty is to treat all faculty, staff, and students as individuals, to hold them to equal standards, and to provide them equality of opportunity, without regard to those individuals' race, ethnicity, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.

The Department will continue to value and promote this commitment in recruiting and retaining faculty, staff, and students.

Our Symbol

We have adopted the Greek letter "µ" as representative of our department and of our field of study. The letter "µ" is a symbol for the scientific prefix micro-, which indicates one-millionth of a unit of measure. This is quite appropriate for Microbiology (or µBiology) as the size of the organisms we study are on the order of 1 µm (a.k.a. micron - a millionth of a meter), or smaller. In addition, the Greek letter µ is spelled mu, which is also an abbreviation for Miami University (M.U.) Taken together, µ for micro and M.U. for Miami University gives us µmu as shorthand for Microbiology at Miami University.