Angie Cooksy: 0:12

Welcome back to the Bradley University Podcast. I'm Angie Cooksy. I serve as the Vice President for Enrollment Management, Marketing and Communications.

Ben Jedd: 0:19

And I am Ben Jedd and I am Assistant Vice President for Marketing and Communications.

Angie Cooksy: 0:24

And we get the awesome privilege of recording the Bradley University Podcast down in Hilltop Studios, which is in the lower level of University Hall. And today I'm so excited because our guest is interim liberal arts and sciences dean and biology professor, Dr. Sherri Morris. Welcome. Thank you.

Ben Jedd: 0:42

Yeah, Sherri. You know, I was just thinking. So since we started recording these like with video, um I just got super self-conscious that, like, am I looking down too much? Do I have like a few minutes? I know, like what are we doing with our hands? Yeah, like I had my glasses down and I was like, oh no, how does that look?

Angie Cooksy: 1:00

And so Well, those are just the glasses on your face, not the ones that are on the table or the ones that are in your suit jacket.

Ben Jedd: 1:05

I have no other, I have just two pairs of glasses on me.

Angie Cooksy: 1:08

So um, so what we do on the show is get to highlight the amazing people that are here in and around the Bradley community and give them space to share a little bit about themselves and their work in the classroom and their experiences to Bradley University. And so um, to jump right in, let's start a little bit about your background and your journey to the seat that you sit in now as an interim dean.

Sherri Morris: 1:34

Thank you very much. Um, so I've been at Bradley for 25 years. I started as an assistant professor in the biology department in 2000.

Angie Cooksy: 1:45

Okay. That makes it easier to count.

Sherri Morris: 1:47

Yeah.

Ben Jedd: 1:48

I know. I was just like 25 years ago. When was that? But yeah.

Sherri Morris: 1:52

Again, easy manager.

Ben Jedd: 1:54

I was a com major.

Sherri Morris: 1:58

And I came, um, I'm originally from Southern California. So you came here for the weather. Oh yeah. I came here for the um five-minute traffic jams.

Angie Cooksy: 2:09

Oh, sure. That is my favorite part of the like report every day on the news. They're like, and there's traffic on the bridge. It'll take an extra two minutes. And you're like, that made that made the the radio this morning.

Sherri Morris: 2:23

Um I went to San Diego State for my bachelor's and my master's, and then Ohio State for my PhD. I then went to um Michigan State for a postdoc before coming to Bradley. That's amazing.

Ben Jedd: 2:36

That's exciting.

Angie Cooksy: 2:37

So uh in your space in the classroom, what is your favorite class to teach?

Sherri Morris: 2:44

My favorite class to teach is ecosystems ecology. Oh. One of the best parts of that is that um we do in-class research projects and we get to go to the field. So we have two university vans that are designated for the biology department. And our students go to the field with us. We're in the forest looking at forest soils, forest plants, and really getting to understand what those systems look like.

Ben Jedd: 3:11

So you this is your favorite class, student projects. Uh what's one project that you still remember?

Sherri Morris: 3:22

Well, we've been doing a lot of work with garlic mustard. Garlic mustard is an invasive species. So a lot of the projects we do are both part of my research program as well as my interactions with students in the classroom. So we take our research into the classroom. And it's great because um there are a lot of different areas being impacted by garlic mustard. So being able to talk to students in the field and say, hey, this is an interesting situation, look at the plants. They always come up with some really unique questions, and we have the ability to do that research, which then informs my research and broadens the projects. So it's been a really great opportunity to work with people that way.

Angie Cooksy: 4:03

So I'm going to ask you about your research in one second, but first I feel like I need to know what is garlic mustard because at my house, those are just spices in my spice habit.

Ben Jedd: 4:14

I think it's actually in your grass. I'm only guessing this, and I might be wrong. So we're in a way.

Sherri Morris: 4:18

So is Ben right? Yes and no.

Ben Jedd: 4:21

We'll just we'll start with the yes. We'll start with the okay.

Sherri Morris: 4:24

So garlic mustard is is an invasive plant, and it starts out as a rosette in the first year. So a very small plant that you might see on the edges of your grass. Okay. But it's a lot of times on the forest edge or just in the forest, and then the next year it bolts, so it puts up its flower stalks, and then it releases thousands and thousands of seeds.

Angie Cooksy: 4:44

And then does it just essentially like take over everything in that area?

Sherri Morris: 4:47

It does. Oh. So you can have just lawns of them, and then when they go to flower the next year, they just expand their area. Is that something that's like unique to here in the Midwest, or is it an invasive plant that was um introduced to the United States in the late 1800s? People actually brought it with them because it can be a medicinal plant. But once here it's expanded from the East Coast to the West Coast, and it's pretty much everywhere.

Angie Cooksy: 5:13

It's fascinating. Um so I promised that I would ask you about your research. And so what when you talk about research here at Bradley and then what you do as an academic for research, but then also how that translates into what research means here at Bradley, what does that look like for you?

Sherri Morris: 5:30

So my research is on um soil organic matter dynamics. So I actually look at soils and what happens to soils with land use change. So there's a lot of agricultural fields that actually were replanted to trees in the 40s. So I've been following what happens to soil quality after that. Um, for me, in terms of working with my students, there's all kinds of questions we can ask about land use change. Impacts of invasive species, just one aspect of land use change. So I can talk to them about what my part of the research is, and then they ask questions and we develop extensions that I can work on with them.

Angie Cooksy: 6:10

I I like every time we have faculty on here, I just am so in awe of all of the things that are happening.

Ben Jedd: 6:15

Now we're like, can we take your class? Yes.

Angie Cooksy: 6:17

We ask that every time because it's so interesting.

Ben Jedd: 6:20

So can you tell us uh what makes LAS the college or the classes within the college unique um at Bradley? And and what uh you could even talk specifically about science. How how is Bradley unique from other university experiences?

Sherri Morris: 6:42

So the sciences at Bradley are really unique in that we really do engage undergraduates in those research experiences. And the reason that I say it's unique is a lot of times um students that are undergraduates are going to be engaged to do things like wash dishes. Right. And so if my students are washing dishes, it's because they made the dishes. Okay.

Angie Cooksy: 7:01

So um you should have to wash your own dishes. That feels like a that feels like a reasonable role.

Sherri Morris: 7:06

Um a lot of times the graduate students are the ones that get all of the opportunities. And so we have really small graduate programs, so we really do challenge our undergraduates to to fill those roles, and they do. They do amazing jobs. If you walk through um Olin Hall, you'll see all the posters on the wall that really do show the unique faculty-student collaboration. And for us, we know that we're giving our students those advanced experiences that they wouldn't get elsewhere.

Angie Cooksy: 7:33

I I've had multiple students over the years that have come in to the Liberal Arts and Sciences and have had opportunities to do research sometimes as soon as their freshman year. And I think that in and of itself is is wildly remarkable about the things that you all give them access to so early.

Sherri Morris: 7:48

Absolutely. Um, there are students that we challenge early on, and we um engage them to learn the basics of scientific research, even starting their freshman year in their content classes. So they really are ready for those challenges.

Angie Cooksy: 8:09

We got lost on our script because we were listening to Sherri.

Ben Jedd: 8:13

You will cut this out. Uh it's your question.

Angie Cooksy: 8:16

Oh. Well, you know, we talk about research, we talk about what is going on in the student experience. What is one maybe student story? And this is always on when we ask faculty, they're like, do I have to just pick one? But what's something in your 25 years at Bradley as a student story that really sticks out to you or that really was one of your like, oh, that's a Bradley experience story that that I would love to share.

Sherri Morris: 8:39

I uh you're absolutely right. I've had a large number of students that I've just really been able to work with. Um I've had students in my research lab for four years. Oh, wow. Those experiences are really dynamic because you get to know the students so well. They have gone on to med school, they've gone on to graduate school. Um I have some that are, you know, doing work now as PhDs in all kinds of different labs. So that part is really for me just so heartwarming to be able to know that they've been so successful. I have um one of the most exciting experiences was when I was able to take um students from my research lab to Mount St. Helens. Mount St. Helens is the volcano that erupted um in the 80s. And we've been doing I've been doing research out there since the 90s looking at land use change, so what happens in terms of soil regeneration. So there's been two different trips that I've taken with students out there, and it's just awesome to be able to do that.

Ben Jedd: 9:37

What a cool experience. Yeah.

Angie Cooksy: 9:39

Wait, can we spend more time about all the trips that you've taken? Because you've gone on some pretty cool or you've led some pretty cool opportunities for our students outside of the Peoria area. Can you talk about some of those?

Sherri Morris: 9:50

So I've also taken students to Costa Rica, do different uh study abroad.

Angie Cooksy: 9:54

It's like my favorite place in the world.

Sherri Morris: 9:55

Yeah, they do a really good job with sustainability. So being able to talk about that with in the lens of sustainable practices and global climate change has been really interesting for the students, and they actually get to see those principles in practice.

Ben Jedd: 10:09

If you are doing that in the future, if you need anyone from marketing to attend, I will volunteer. Just putting that out there.

Sherri Morris: 10:15

You bet. Certainly let you know. And that's been a collaborative event experience. Um Jeannie Bukowski in political science has gone with me on those trips, and um, we've been able to bring students from the sciences, students from other LAS programs, and from international studies with us on those trips. So everyone gets to experience it at different levels.

Angie Cooksy: 10:38

This is also why we get lost on our script because I go off script all the time. But on that note, I think it's so important for us to mention the collaboration that happens in liberal arts and sciences across campus. And what does that mean for you and why is that important in your role as the interim dean?

Sherri Morris: 10:55

I think that collaboration is really important as an ecosystems ecologist. I can't know everything about every system, so I've always had to work with other people in terms of my own scholarship. But being able to work on that culture within the college has also been really important. And um, there's a lot of natural collaborations across different departments. Being able to spot the people that should be working together and then the projects that can bring them together is is really essential to being able to help people move forward in terms of those relationships. That's really cool.

Ben Jedd: 11:32

So what's something that the Bradley community um may not know about your Bradley experience?

Angie Cooksy: 11:42

Or just you in general.

Ben Jedd: 11:43

Yeah.

Angie Cooksy: 11:44

We've learned about people horseback riding. We've learned all sorts of things on the show. We have stumped Sherri. What it's something that's uh unique or interesting about you. You have something.

Sherri Morris: 12:05

You guys just went to Poland. Yes, we did. We went to Poland, so that was another study abroad experience. Oh, that was a study abroad, okay. Yeah. Um we've been working with a the Posnan University Medical School, and for us, we are working so that um part of our curriculum, so a couple of years for our students can count as their first two years of med school.

Ben Jedd: 12:26

Oh, awesome.

Sherri Morris: 12:27

So that kind of collaboration is is really important.

Ben Jedd: 12:30

So do you do a lot of like have you done a lot of study abroads over the years? Like to different locations, like do you do you choose different locations personally?

Sherri Morris: 12:38

I don't. Okay. Um both of those were um projects that other people brought to me, which is great.

Ben Jedd: 12:46

Yeah.

Sherri Morris: 12:46

Um, but we've been able to put them together in really unique ways.

Ben Jedd: 12:49

That's very cool.

Sherri Morris: 12:50

Um that's also one of the things that we built in biology is a course called Um The Ecology of Place. You can take it anywhere.

Ben Jedd: 13:00

It's on the go.

Angie Cooksy: 13:01

That was intentional. Um You know, you talked about the the relationship with the institution in Poland. You guys have a lot of other cool kind of community partnerships and community collaborations that you've been developing just to give our students exposure to other things, maybe in the med school world or things like that. What has been maybe one of the most interesting collaborations that you've gotten a chance to work on while at Bradley?

Sherri Morris: 13:27

So the Early Assurance Program with Um University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria, that's a program where our students as juniors can apply to med school at um the College of Medicine in Peoria, and they've actually reserved seats for our students. So it really is a matter of being able to make sure our students are prepared and then taking them through the application process. It is great for them because you know they have a fairly direct way that they can access seats in med school. And we're hoping to set the same kind of thing up with our the university in Posnan. But um the way that we got there was actually I was working with a Bradley alum who is currently one of the directors of um the medical school at UweComp. That's awesome.

Angie Cooksy: 14:22

So it's those connections.

Ben Jedd: 14:24

Yeah, absolutely.

Angie Cooksy: 14:25

So one of the things that we ask on every show is a question that we get pretty much the same response to initially. Uh so we'll see if that goes for us again today. Um we talk a lot about what makes Bradley special and you know the classes experiences that you've had and and all of that, but we want to put you on the spot a little bit. Um, Dr. Sherri Morris, what is something that you are unapologetically exceptional at?

Sherri Morris: 14:49

I think probably building teams. I love that. That was an immediate response. You win. That was great. Um I I just see that the the better buy-in you get to teamwork, the broader you can make the scope of whatever project that you're working on. And I think that at Bradley in particular, we really need to bring people together.

Angie Cooksy: 15:12

What do you look for in when you're building a team?

Sherri Morris: 15:18

I would say people that are like-minded, but people that are like-minded about the end goal, but not how you get there. Because there's a lot of different routes to the same outcome. And a lot of times if you blend those, you can actually be more inclusive of the entire community.

Angie Cooksy: 15:34

Oh, I that's really cool. I like that.

Ben Jedd: 15:36

Yeah, I like that a lot. Thank you very much, Sherri, for joining us today. We really appreciate it.

Angie Cooksy: 15:41

Is there anything that you would like to add to the show today?

Sherri Morris: 15:45

Well, the one thing I will say is the one reason that I'm at Bradley is they told me during the interview that I would get to do research with undergraduates. And that's why I'm here at Bradley. And that is what I've done for 25 years.

Ben Jedd: 15:58

I was gonna say, and you suck around.

Angie Cooksy: 16:01

Yeah, they didn't tell you you would come on our podcast, but now you're here.

Ben Jedd: 16:06

Surprise.

Angie Cooksy: 16:07

Well, thank you so much. I think one of the things that has been most enjoyable about getting to do this show, um, and then certainly getting to work with all of the deans across campus in the seats that Ben and I get to sit on is the collaboration is alive and well because of people like you in the seats that you're sitting in and are willing to say there's different ways that we can do what we're doing. Doesn't mean it's gonna be better 100% of the time. It doesn't mean that what we're doing is wrong, but that we're willing to look at things and be creative and be uh innovative in new ways. And I think you're an exceptional person at that around campus. And we're so glad that you were here. Thank you very much. Thanks. That is another episode of the Bradley University Podcast. As always, if you want to be on our show and answer our questions, uh you can reach out to Ben Jedd and he will get you scheduled. Um, and we look forward to seeing everybody next time. Bye, everybody.

Ben Jedd: 16:56

Bye bye.