Biology/environmental science is No. 2 on the list of most popular undergraduate majors at UT. It could be argued that Lori McRae, associate professor of biology plays a large part in that by teaching interesting courses like Marine Biology and Global Issues in Wildlife Conservation.
Part of what makes McRae’s approach so unique is that she is also a UT alumna. Though she was raised in Kentucky, McRae ’95 knew from frequent family trips to Florida and the Caribbean as a kid that she wanted to study marine biology.
“UT was my first choice,” she said. “At the time there weren’t a lot of other undergraduate programs in marine biology. And I liked that it was small. I was blown away by almost every teacher.”
McRae lived on campus in Smiley, Delo and Res Com. Her study partner during those years (and eventual roommate), Jen Wortham ‘95, also returned to UT and is an associate professor of Health Sciences and Human Performance.
After taking her first biology class with Stan Rice, professor of biology, McRae ended up working with Rice on various research projects for three years. She said he played an instrumental role in pushing her on to graduate school.
McRae continued her studies at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, LA, going straight for her doctorate. “Jumping right into a doctoral program was really rough, but I realized pretty early on that I loved teaching and that I'd need a Ph.D. to do that at the college level,” she said.
While at LSU, McRae split her time between Baton Rouge and Hilo, HI, studying fish ecology, genetics and morphology. In Hawaii, she began working with Mark McRae from the state’s Division of Aquatic Resources, whom she would eventually marry (Mark McRae is now an associate professor of biology at UT.)
When she was nearing completion of her doctorate, her thoughts turned back to UT. She started out as an adjunct, but was soon offered a tenure track position and was awarded tenure in 2008. “It was kind of like coming home,” she said. “The organic chemistry lab had the same smell.”
Among the courses McRae teaches are biological unity, biological diversity, conservation biology, environmental science, marine biology, vertebrate zoology and global issues in wildlife conservation.
As far as working with her former professors, McRae said she still looks up to and models her teaching after the professors she had at UT.
According to McRae, this is one of the perks of having been a UT student. She understands what the student experience is like. “Some of the professors teach their courses in the same way that they taught them to me,” she said. “So I’m able to talk to my students about that.”
For McRae, this interaction is the best part of the job. “I love teaching, taking students out into the field. There are days when I can’t believe I get paid to do this.”
