Henry Wilbur, B.F.D. Runk Professor of Botany, and Tami Ransom, doctoral candidate in Biology

It’s not every day that a salamander expert finds a kindred spirit, but Henry Wilbur, B.F.D. Runk Professor of Botany, has found plenty of scholarly soulmates at the University of Virginia. Thanks to the biology professor’s passion for the slithery critters, more than a dozen graduate students have come to the College to pursue advanced degrees under his tutelage.

Since joining the faculty 17 years ago, Wilbur has mentored graduate students on Grounds and at the University’s Mountain Lake Biological Station, a research and teaching facility nestled in the Appalachian Mountains of southwestern Virginia. Though his current research focuses on forest dynamics—he jokes that he’s too old to chase down salamanders on rainy nights—many of his graduate students come to U.Va. in part because of his expertise in amphibians.

But it’s more than scholarly achievement that makes Wilbur popular among students: He truly values their perspectives. “From the start, Henry treats his graduate students as colleagues,” says Tami Ransom, a doctoral candidate studying interactions between salamanders and earthworms.

During Wilbur’s weekly lab meetings with his graduate students, everyone takes turns leading the meeting and sharing ideas about research projects. And unlike most professors who put their graduate students to work on components of their personal research projects, Wilbur encourages independent projects. The approach is a confidence-booster for young scientists.

“I try to have an atmosphere where I’m not acting ex cathedra, handing down the wisdom,” Wilbur says. “I try to have discussions with the graduate students so I weigh their opinions as much as I do [those of] my faculty colleagues. It’s much more working collaboratively rather than as a master-apprentice relationship.”

As Wilbur’s teaching assistant, Ransom was responsible for leading independent study sessions for a class of 350 undergraduates. Describing Ransom as his “teaching partner,” Wilbur says she offered additional office hours and extra assistance for struggling students. She also mentors undergraduate students during the summer at Mountain Lake, helping them design experiments and guiding them in their research.

“It’s exciting because eventually, when I become a professor, I will advise students,” Ransom says. “This experience is a prelude to that.” Wilbur counts his graduate students—with whom he has coauthored papers—among his closest colleagues. While he may offer the wisdom of experience, Wilbur says his students challenge him intellectually.

“They have a level of enthusiasm and curiosity that helps keep me fresh and young,” he says. “They’re interested in learning what’s new and hot, so they keep me informed and push me to keep up better than I might if I didn’t have that stimulation.”

The science departments, and especially undergraduates, benefit tremendously from the services offered by graduate students, says Wilbur. An individual professor can effectively advise just a few undergraduates in laboratory and field work, but with graduate students as teaching assistants and student mentors, the College can expand research opportunities available to undergraduates—and more undergraduates can enjoy a close working relationship with a professional scientist.

“Graduate students greatly enrich the undergraduate experience as teaching assistants, if they’re enthusiastic and well trained,” Wilbur says. “Most of [my students] are interested in college or university positions, so they look at themselves as teacher-scholars, not just research technicians.”

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Help support talented graduate students such as Tami Ransom through fellowships and support of Program and Academic Venture Funds.