The mission of the organization is to promote research and scholarship as well as fellowship between the students and the biology faculty. Southwestern s chapter is primarily responsible for the campus recycling program and Earth Day festivities. In addition they run a science education program in cooperation with local grade school kids. The organization often invites outside speakers from research and graduate schools to its meetings to discuss issues and careers in science. Members of Tri-Beta are eligible for research grants from the national organization.
Students present their research findings at the annual district conference each year.
Although Southwestern is the smallest school in attendance at the conference, it often has the largest representation of its students. A Network of Scientists Southwestern has a large network of alumni who are willing to help students gain internship experiences in a variety of areas. In each of the biology classes, faculty make an effort to include at least one exercise that allows the student to take some responsibility in the proposal and design of an experiment. In addition, our B.S. students are all required to complete a full research proposal during their junior year. Students are encouraged to carry out these independent research projects during their senior years.