Dr. Reece recalls her unique collaboration with Neil Campbell, and looks forward to the future of biology education.

Jane B. Reece has long partnered with Neil Campbell on the leading biology textbooks BIOLOGY, Biology: Concepts & Connections, Essential Biology, and Essential Biology with Physiology. Her background includes an A.B. in Biology from Harvard University, an M.S. in Microbiology from Rutgers University, and a Ph.D. in Bacteriology from the University of California, Berkeley. At UC Berkeley, and later as a postdoctoral fellow in genetics at Stanford University, her research focused on genetic recombination in bacteria. She also has taught biology courses at Middlesex Community College (New Jersey) and Queensborough Community College (New York).

BC | In a sense, I'm interviewing the interviewer: over the years, the interviews you and Neil Campbell have done with influential biologists-from Linus Pauling and James Watson to Jane Goodall and Richard Dawkins, to name a few-have become an anticipated part of BIOLOGY. What was it like to conduct these interviews? Do you have a favorite interview?

JR | Doing the interviews is a highlight of working on the book. What could be more fun than to spend an afternoon with a scientist like the ones you mention, with the opportunity to ask about his or her life, work, and thoughts about the future of biology? It's truly a privilege to meet these fascinating people, who come from a variety of backgrounds and often have wide-ranging interests beyond their specific research. Take Erich Jarvis, for example, a young neuroscientist at Duke whom I interviewed for the seventh edition of BIOLOGY. Erich trained to be a professional dancer and also studied music, but today he does groundbreaking research spanning molecular genetics, physiology, and behavior. Another favorite was Linus Pauling, the subject of Neil's very first interview for the first edition, an interview that I attended. Pauling exemplified the great scientist who simultaneously displays a broad perspective on science, innovative ideas in a number of specific scientific areas, and a deep interest in important societal issues. Awe-inspiring!

BC | As the "behind the scenes" partner in BIOLOGY, many people may not be aware of your background, both as an academic and a teacher. How has your teaching informed your approach as a textbook author?

JR | Throughout my years in textbook publishing, I've continued to draw on my experiences as an instructor at community colleges in the Northeast and as a teaching assistant at UC Berkeley. My first teaching job was in New Jersey, at a time when that state was just establishing its community college system. Many of my students were the first in their families to attend college, and their life experiences and academic skills ran a wide gamut. So a major part of the challenge was to tailor my courses to reach as many students as possible in this diverse population. I ended up focusing heavily on a relatively small number of key biological concepts, trying to give the students a framework on which to hang the "stories" they heard from me and from their textbook. I also devoted much effort to the creation of visual explanations of biological concepts and processes-diagrams and other kinds of illustrations. Some years later, when I met Neil, I learned that emphasis on key concepts and visual teaching was a main element of his teaching philosophy, too. And this shared approach has shaped our books, which serve an audience even more heterogeneous than my early classes.

BC | Over the years, your collaboration with Neil Campbell has led to the most successful text in the history of science textbook publishing. How did this partnership come into being?

JR | After my postdoc at Stanford, I was looking for a different kind of challenge, though I wanted to stay in the same geographic area. I ended up with an editorial job at the Benjamin Cummings Publishing Company, which was located up the street. Benjamin Cummings was a tiny operation at the time, and I soon found myself involved in a number of different projects. One of the most exciting was the introductory biology book being written by Neil Campbell, who was signed up during my first year at the company. My role was mostly advisory during the first few years of Neil's work on the manuscript, but as the first edition neared completion I became more heavily involved, taking responsibility for the final draft of Unit 3 (genetics) and creating a new chapter on recombinant DNA technology. In the second and third editions, I continued as the "contributor" for Unit 3, revising the eight chapters in that unit in consultation with Neil. Meanwhile, I carried on with my editorial "day job," first as a developmental editor, then an acquisitions editor, and finally as manager of book development. I liked the pedagogical aspects of training and managing editors and being able to influence a wide range of books. However, I eventually realized that what I liked most was hands-on work with manuscripts-and especially the design of illustrations, which are so important in teaching biology. So when Neil was looking for a coauthor for his first book for non-majors, Biology: Concepts & Connections, I jumped at the chance. This project worked out so well that Neil invited me to join him as an official coauthor of the fifth edition of the "big book." By then, we had worked closely together for many years and knew that we were very much on the same wavelength, with similar standards and teaching philosophies. Equally important, we knew that we enjoyed working together.

BC | Biology as a whole is an incredibly large field, with new developments announced almost every day. How do you keep up?

JR | It is a challenge to keep up with new discoveries and ideas in biology! I do a lot of reading, starting with the New York Times (check out the science section on Tuesdays, if you don't already know it), general science magazines such as Scientific American, and the journals Science and Nature. These are usually enough to alert me to the big stories, which can be followed up in more specialized journals and books. But as biology continues its explosive growth, advisors and contributors who are expert in the different subdisciplines of biology are becoming increasingly important. Neil drew on such expertise with his very first edition, and we are continuing to do so.

BC | Where do you see biology education heading?

JR | To me, the most striking new development in biology education is the use of modern technology to support the learning process. From "clickers" that can facilitate interactive learning in large classes to animations and interactive activities on a textbook's CD-ROM or website to the use of the web itself as a learning tool, students now have many opportunities to engage actively in learning about biology. These and other innovative uses of technology can free up instructors to provide the personal guidance and encouragement that are so important in inquiry-based learning. Will the textbook go the way of the horse and buggy? I don't think so. I believe that the ongoing deluge of new information has made it more important than ever for beginning biology students to have one solid source of clear, accurate explanation of the key biological concepts. Just as biology researchers benefit from studying the scientific literature as background for their own investigations, students are likely to be more successful in their personal explorations in biology if these explorations are based on a good understanding of the fundamentals.

BC | Is there a secret to the success of BIOLOGY? And if so, how will you maintain this success now that Neil Campbell can no longer be a part of it?

JR | I'm not sure that "hard work" makes for much of a secret, but that's probably the key! The motivation for the books on Neil's part and mine has always been the simple desire to share the amazing world of biology with students, corny as that may sound. We just never stopped thinking about how to do a better job reaching students, fine tuning our ideas in successive editions of the book. Also, there's no doubt that the book has benefited from our commitment to high standards of scholarship-which is just a fancy way of saying that we try to get the science right! Finally, for every edition, our talented publishing colleagues at Benjamin Cummings have more than matched our commitment and efforts with their own.

Neil Campbell's unexpected death in October of 2004 has been a great loss for his publishing partners and for the biology community as a whole, but we who worked closely with him are determined to carry his vision forward. As Neil's writing partner from the first edition of BIOLOGY, I'll be playing a more visible leadership role as lead author on upcoming editions. For several years before his death, Neil had been working with me and our Editor-in-Chief Beth Wilbur to assemble a team of outstanding biologists and editors to ensure continuing improvement in the book's presentation of biology and its teaching value. I'm confident that we now have the talent we need in place. In addition to mentoring our new authorial team, I am enjoying spending more time at biology meetings and on campuses-there is just no substitute for direct contact with professors and students. Future editions of the book will depend more than ever on feedback and ideas from the entire biology community.

	Biology, 7/e by Neil A. Campbell, Jane B. Reece
	Biology: Concepts & Connections, 5/e by Neil A. Campbell, Jane B. Reece, Martha R. Taylor, Eric J. Simon
	Essential Biology, 2/e by Neil A. Campbell, Jane B. Reece, Eric J. Simon
	Essential Biology with Physiology, 1/e by Neil A. Campbell, Jane B. Reece, Eric J. Simon