November 2006

Faculty Member Plans Bequest to Support Undergraduate Research

Randall Packer in his lab with senior Jenna Checchi, a biology major working on how hormones regulate kidney function for her thesis.

By Catherine C. Fox

Randall Packer, professor of biology, has seen a lot of changes at GW since he joined the faculty fresh out of graduate school in 1971. “When I first came to campus, it wasn’t clear when you were on campus and when you were not,” he recalls. “During the Trachtenberg administration, it became a campus with geographical definition.”

Another area of dramatic change, says Packer, has been research. “The amount of sponsored research in the Department of Biological Sciences compared to when I came is orders-of-magnitude greater,” he says, stressing that faculty members have ensured these increased research funds have enhanced, rather than eclipsed, student learning.

To further science education at GW and make sure students have ample opportunities in the lab, Packer and his wife Beverly have decided to make a bequest to support undergraduate research in the Department of Biological Sciences. Unlike some research universities, says Packer, students at GW have direct access to faculty.

“I enjoy being part of a liberal arts college where a lot of faculty energy goes directly into undergraduate interaction,” says Packer. “I think one reason students pay the tuition here is to have contact with research-productive faculty. For us, that means more than just giving a lecture,” he stresses. “It means being available for office hours, showing up at the lab, and inviting undergraduates to work on projects in our labs.”

Exposure to experts means students leave GW with hands-on experience rather than just memorized scientific facts. “I think it is important that students experience how science is done, that it is not static,” says Packer.

While the Packers want the biology department to have the freedom to use their bequest as it wishes, he does have an idea: “I’d like to see this money go to pay stipends to undergraduates so they can stay at GW over the summer and conduct research.” Rather than funding prizes, Packer wants his gift to make it possible for students to do research that otherwise might not get done, he stresses.

Packer is a loyal contributor to the University’s annual fund through the Employee Payroll Deduction Plan. He also is interested in encouraging donors to support what he sees as the next major change at the University: a new science and engineering facility.

He explains that a state-of-the-art facility would provide enhancements like more suitable electrical wiring, better temperature regulation, and dust-free environments.
“I think you’d have to search very far to find another institution in our category that hasn’t built a new biology building in the liberal arts since the structure of DNA was discovered.” he says. “To do 21st-century science, we need a 21st-century building.” To borrow words from the professor, the allegiance of generous donors makes possible work that otherwise might not get done.

Send feedback to: bygeorge@gwu.edu