XVI International Botanical Congess

Biology is more popular than ever among undergraduate students all over the world. This means that biologists, of all scientists, have the greatest responsibility for promoting scientific literacy in society. The extent to which that scientific literacy includes an appreciation of plant biology is proportional to the personal investment that botanists make in the undergraduate biology curriculum, especially the all important introductory courses. This presentation examines the opportunity to leverage the popularity of biology in the context of three international trends: 1) Life science departments are making introductory courses a higher priority, 2) Introductory courses are becoming less encyclopedic, and 3) The college-school boundary is dissolving. Botanists are helping to catalyze all three of these trends.