Tech's biology department bids farewell to Dr. Bill Good, searches for new instructor
By Stephanie Brewster
After years of educating future nurses, biologists, and biochemists, Dr. Bill Good will be retiring at the end of 2017’s Summer Session. As he transitions out of the Biological Sciences Department of Montana Tech, the department searches for a professor to fill Good’s shoes. The department is finding that none can quite replace Dr. Bill Good.
By Stephanie Brewster
After years of educating future nurses, biologists, and biochemists, Dr. Bill Good will be retiring at the end of 2017’s Summer Session. As he transitions out of the Biological Sciences Department of Montana Tech, the department searches for a professor to fill Good’s shoes. The department is finding that none can quite replace Dr. Bill Good.
For the students and faculty in the Biological Sciences Department, Spring Semester of 2017 looks to be a bittersweet progression as many reflect and reminisce on their good times with Bill Good.
“Doctor Good is an excellent professor who has a unique personality. Any student who has talked with him knows that he is very passionate about the world of biology,” recalled Janay McElderry, a former student of Dr. Good who is now in Tech’s Bachelor of Science in Nursing program. “He especially loved to talk about fish; they were frequently brought up in Anatomy & Physiology lectures to help students understand the human body.”
While some of Dr. Good’s tips for memorizing terms in Anatomy & Physiology and stories during biology labs seem to swim upstream of conventional lecturing styles, McElderry said they supplemented students’ resources for learning outside of the lecture material.
“He was always willing to chat with students in the lab and help them better comprehend the body system that was currently being discussed in lecture,” McElderry said, describing Good’s impact on her learning. “Dr. Good has deeply enriched the biology department at Montana Tech and will be dearly missed.”
Dr. Martha Apple, a longtime friend and colleague of Good, affectionately epitomizes his character as that of a “nice, thoughtful, and knowledgeable person”. She describes her first encounter with Dr. Good as being a near-classroom experience.
“He was almost my professor at the U of M,” Apple explained. “I was a botany major and he was there as an adjunct professor.”
Though Apple admits she dropped Good’s class in the 80s during her years as a botany major at the University of Montana, she would later have the pleasure of teaching alongside him at Montana Tech in 2003. In all their years instructing in the same department, Apple says Bill Good’s nature remains constant: principled, well-spoken, and considerate.
“I feel very fortunate just to know him,” Apple said. “We can’t replace Bill- no offense to anyone interviewing for his position.”
In January, beginning 2017’s Spring Semester, four candidates interested in Good’s position advanced to the next step in the application process. Dr. Nathan Miller, Kate Mattern, Dr. Ryan Stapely, and Dr. Gillian Martiz each presented a teaching seminar on homeostasis to students and faculty at Montana Tech. The results of the seminars have yet to be revealed to the students of Tech.
“It’s going to be fairly similar to Bill’s position,” Apple told the Technocrat when asked what duties and responsibilities a future professor would have to embrace in order to fill the Biological Sciences Department position. “It’s pretty intensive to teach all those labs. Whoever comes in will have to tailor it to his or her interests.”
Along with the challenges of filling Good’s position, a future biology professor can look forward to the joys of serving students in a “relatively small department” that offers “a lot of chances of working in the lab and the field with students,” according to Apple. Students and staff are hopeful for a new professor who will fit well in Tech’s Biological Sciences Department full of diverse faculty who are masters of a wide variety of disciplines.
As Apple later shared her well-wishes for Bill, her statements were graced with the fact that, with all their history together as colleagues, she knows she’ll see him again. She fondly reminisced on the times her and Dr. Good had spent catching frogs at the creek near her house and the congeniality of their daily encounters, exchanging greetings of “It’s “Good” to see you,” in the mornings.
“Congratulations on an excellent time here and good luck in the Bitterroot Valley,” were Apple’s closing remarks for Dr. Bill Good.
The last few semesters Tech has to be graced by Good’s presence will assuredly be filled with his love for learning, fanatics for fish, and enthusiasm to educate and see students succeed. His fervor for the biological sciences and students of Montana Tech will be greatly missed come the end of the summer of 2017. As for all of us whose educational and professional paths have been impacted by him, we can testify that Bill has been the greatest Good Montana Tech will ever see.
“Doctor Good is an excellent professor who has a unique personality. Any student who has talked with him knows that he is very passionate about the world of biology,” recalled Janay McElderry, a former student of Dr. Good who is now in Tech’s Bachelor of Science in Nursing program. “He especially loved to talk about fish; they were frequently brought up in Anatomy & Physiology lectures to help students understand the human body.”
While some of Dr. Good’s tips for memorizing terms in Anatomy & Physiology and stories during biology labs seem to swim upstream of conventional lecturing styles, McElderry said they supplemented students’ resources for learning outside of the lecture material.
“He was always willing to chat with students in the lab and help them better comprehend the body system that was currently being discussed in lecture,” McElderry said, describing Good’s impact on her learning. “Dr. Good has deeply enriched the biology department at Montana Tech and will be dearly missed.”
Dr. Martha Apple, a longtime friend and colleague of Good, affectionately epitomizes his character as that of a “nice, thoughtful, and knowledgeable person”. She describes her first encounter with Dr. Good as being a near-classroom experience.
“He was almost my professor at the U of M,” Apple explained. “I was a botany major and he was there as an adjunct professor.”
Though Apple admits she dropped Good’s class in the 80s during her years as a botany major at the University of Montana, she would later have the pleasure of teaching alongside him at Montana Tech in 2003. In all their years instructing in the same department, Apple says Bill Good’s nature remains constant: principled, well-spoken, and considerate.
“I feel very fortunate just to know him,” Apple said. “We can’t replace Bill- no offense to anyone interviewing for his position.”
In January, beginning 2017’s Spring Semester, four candidates interested in Good’s position advanced to the next step in the application process. Dr. Nathan Miller, Kate Mattern, Dr. Ryan Stapely, and Dr. Gillian Martiz each presented a teaching seminar on homeostasis to students and faculty at Montana Tech. The results of the seminars have yet to be revealed to the students of Tech.
“It’s going to be fairly similar to Bill’s position,” Apple told the Technocrat when asked what duties and responsibilities a future professor would have to embrace in order to fill the Biological Sciences Department position. “It’s pretty intensive to teach all those labs. Whoever comes in will have to tailor it to his or her interests.”
Along with the challenges of filling Good’s position, a future biology professor can look forward to the joys of serving students in a “relatively small department” that offers “a lot of chances of working in the lab and the field with students,” according to Apple. Students and staff are hopeful for a new professor who will fit well in Tech’s Biological Sciences Department full of diverse faculty who are masters of a wide variety of disciplines.
As Apple later shared her well-wishes for Bill, her statements were graced with the fact that, with all their history together as colleagues, she knows she’ll see him again. She fondly reminisced on the times her and Dr. Good had spent catching frogs at the creek near her house and the congeniality of their daily encounters, exchanging greetings of “It’s “Good” to see you,” in the mornings.
“Congratulations on an excellent time here and good luck in the Bitterroot Valley,” were Apple’s closing remarks for Dr. Bill Good.
The last few semesters Tech has to be graced by Good’s presence will assuredly be filled with his love for learning, fanatics for fish, and enthusiasm to educate and see students succeed. His fervor for the biological sciences and students of Montana Tech will be greatly missed come the end of the summer of 2017. As for all of us whose educational and professional paths have been impacted by him, we can testify that Bill has been the greatest Good Montana Tech will ever see.