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Oakland, CA–September 23, 2008. Lisa Urry, Letts-Villard Chair of the Biology Department at Mills College, is a coauthor of the new eighth edition of Biology, the world's most popular introductory biology textbook. An estimated 65 percent of all doctors and biological scientists in the United States under the age of 40 began their biology studies with an edition of Biology.

"There is nothing more exciting and challenging than learning biology," said Urry. "Science is a way of wondering about the world."

Published by Benjamin Cummings and originally authored by Neil A. Campbell and Jane B. Reece, Biology has been used by more than six million students worldwide since its first edition in 1987 and is currently used in two-thirds of all introductory biology courses for college majors.

The previous edition was used by more than 450 colleges, and more than 600,000 copies have been sold. Schools where more than 1,000 students are currently using the book include the University of California at Berkeley, the University of California at San Diego, the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and Cornell University.

"The book is an impressive achievement and makes a substantial contribution to science education. Biology teaches modern biology starting from the molecular level, then onto the cellular level, the organismic level, and finally to the ecological system," said Sandra C. Greer, Mills College provost and dean of the faculty. "We are fortunate to have Professor Lisa Urry as a Mills faculty member, so that our students can benefit from her erudition and her commitment to science pedagogy."

"It's an honor to work on it. I'm able to help a large number of students," said Urry, who contributed 21 chapters on metabolism, cells, genetics, molecular biology, and genome evolution.

Using evolution as the over-arching theme, the book is written and illustrated to help students learn rather than simply to convey information, Urry said. When the book was first published, it revolutionized biology textbooks by including graphic illustrations to explain concepts, techniques that are widely adopted in science textbooks today, she said.

Urry first became a book contributor after she wrote to the authors about an error in the book's fourth edition. She was then asked to review book chapters. Her dedication to seek out the best pedagogical techniques to teach students biology eventually led her to become one of the book's coauthors.   

A member of the Mills College faculty since 1995, Urry has taught courses such as developmental biology, marine biology, genetics, and immunology. Her research focuses on the developmental biology of sea urchins. She was also a featured speaker at the "Women in Science Leadership: Where Do We Go From Here?" panel discussion held at Mills in the fall of 2007 to celebrate the opening of the Betty Irene Moore Natural Sciences Building.

In addition to her research and scholarly work, Urry is also recognized for her contributions to efforts by the National Science Foundation and other groups to increase participation by women and minorities in scientific fields. "Increasing diversity among scientists will improve the quality of scientific endeavors," she said.

Urry has a BA (in biology and French) from Tufts University and a PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology/Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

Nestled in the foothills of Oakland, California, Mills College is a nationally renowned, independent liberal arts college offering a dynamic progressive education that fosters leadership, social responsibility, and creativity to approximately 950 undergraduate women and 500 graduate women and men. Since 2000, applications to Mills College have more than doubled. The College is named one of the top colleges in the West by U.S. News & World Report, one of the Best 368 Colleges by The Princeton Review, and ranks 75th among America's best colleges by Forbes.com. Visit us at www.mills.edu.

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