Silver Circles: Alan Molumby

Since 1966, the Silver Circle Award has been presented to some of UIC’s best teachers. Winners, who are honored at their college commencements, receive $500 and their names join a long list of distinguished colleagues. But what makes the award especially meaningful is its selection committee: the graduating seniors.

Alan Molumby
Clinical associate professor and director of prairie biological sciences
Silver Circles: 5
Years at UIC: 20

What does it mean to win this award from the graduating seniors? 
I am tremendously honored by this award because it is an unequivocal affirmation of what I am doing here. My hope is that, by my teaching, I inspire students to follow their intellectual passions and take that knowledge to whatever discipline follows their education here.

What do you teach? 
Bios 101- Biology of Populations and Communities; Bios 240, Comparative Animal Physiology

How do you engage students in your courses? 
I try to draw connections between the course material and other aspects of the students’ lives, experience and interests.

What is your advice to graduating students? 
A person with a degree in science has tremendous potential to change society for the better.