SWU Division of Science

10/09/2026

🌿🐍 **Swamp stomping, critter spotting, and a little science along the way!**

Last weekend, Dr. Mohr’s Ecology class and the **SWU Science Club** teamed up for a field adventure at **Congaree National Park** in South Carolina’s Midlands! 🌳🐢

From beautiful wetland scenery to some fascinating critter encounters, students had the opportunity to explore this unique ecosystem firsthand. There’s nothing quite like getting out of the classroom and seeing ecology in action!

A little mud, a lot of nature, and another great day of hands-on learning. **This is how we do science at SWU!** 🌿

10/08/2026

🩸🔬 CSI: SWU Edition!

Things got a little bloody in Dr. Beth Stuart’s Introduction to Forensic Science class! 🕵️‍♀️

Students traded their textbooks for some hands-on forensic investigation as they explored bloodstain pattern analysis. By examining how blood droplets behave when they strike a surface, students learned how the size, shape, and distribution of stains can provide valuable clues about what happened at a crime scene.

It’s amazing how a few tiny drops can tell such a big story! And don’t worry—it’s all part of the science. 😎

Just another day of learning to follow the evidence at SWU!

10/06/2026

Mentoring goes beyond the classroom. 💙⚽

Professor Rebecca Fort recently spent time with the SWU Women’s Soccer team for a Bible study as part of Athletics’ new Faculty Mentor initiative. Several members of the Division of Science are serving as faculty mentors this year, building stronger connections with our student-athletes.

Thanks, Professor Fort, for representing the Division of Science so well—and for spending some quality time with this great group of Warriors!

10/05/2026

🧫 Yeast today…humans tomorrow? 🔬

Dr. Michele Eller’s Cell Biology students are in the middle of a six-week Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) where they aren’t just carrying out an experiment—they designed their own.

Each student group selected a soluble chemical commonly consumed by humans and developed an experiment to test how it affects the growth of yeast, a model eukaryotic organism. They’re measuring cell density, evaluating cell viability, collecting data, and ultimately asking the big question: what might these results suggest about effects in humans?

Real questions. Student-designed experiments. Real data. That’s what learning science looks like. 🧪📊

10/05/2026

We warned you there was video. 😎

Friday we showed you the aftermath. Now you can see what Dr. Beth Stuart’s Criminal Justice and Forensic Science students were actu ally up against.

One student. The obstacle course. Start to finish. 🏃‍♂️💨

This course was built to push students physically, test their endurance, and show them pretty quickly where their strengths—and opportunities for improvement—might be.

So… how far do you think YOU would make it? 👀😂

Press play and find out what these students survived.

10/03/2026

Let's go, girls!!

Back on the road!

Women's Soccer travels to Belmont, NC to take on the Belmont Abbey Crusaders at noon today

📊: bit.ly/32dsCMZ
📺: bit.ly/3ATW9Kd

10/02/2026

They survived the obstacle course. Mostly. 😅💪

Dr. Beth Stuart’s Criminal Justice and Forensic Science students put themselves to the test this week, tackling an agility course designed to challenge endurance, coordination, determination, and maybe a few stomachs. 😂

Everyone worked hard. A few got sick. A few discovered exactly where they need to improve. And Dr. Stuart finished the day like she was taking a stroll in a park…at least those have been the rumors about the legend. 😎

It was challenging, messy, exhausting—and exactly the kind of hands-on experience that students tend to remember.

But what did the whole course actually look like? 👀

Come back Monday. We have video. 🥳😜🤩

10/02/2026

One rule of field ecology: keep your eyes open. 👀🐍🦎

While Dr. Mohr’s students were exploring the mountains of the Carolinas, a few of the locals decided to make an appearance. Along the way, the class encountered an eastern fence lizard, a copperhead, and a garter snake—each giving students a chance to see wildlife exactly where it belongs: in the field.

You can talk about habitat, elevation, behavior, and ecology in a classroom. It gets a whole lot more interesting when something suddenly starts moving beside the trail.

Sometimes the best part of a field trip isn’t on the itinerary.