Attracting undergraduate students into our biology programs has been difficult. There is no current undergraduate degree offered specifically in the area of biotechnology. Graduate student recruiting is critical and is hampered by low stipends. Failure to address these issues will seriously limit teaching and research in biotechnology. Outreach efforts on behalf of biotechnology are minimal and uncoordinated yet they are an obligation of increasing importance, especially in agriculture.
Biotechnology cuts across many disciplines and impacts all of life.
Biotechnology should be a Washington State University programmatic and funding priority. Relevant new faculty hires should be viewed with the context of this priority. Relevant existing and emerging programs should be encouraged and supported to establish a focus in the area of biotechnology. In priority biotechnology fields such as bioinformatics and genomics, attracting new faculty with expertise will be difficult. One way to strengthen these fields within the university would be to provide support for current faculty that wish to obtain additional training.