This institution, a small 4-year, historically Black institution, is enhancing its biology laboratories. Although the State of Missouri approved an expanded mission and additional degree programs in 1993, years of underfunding have left this college lacking the equipment necessary for effective undergraduate teaching. This is particularly true of the laboratory experience. The addition of an approved biology specialization area in the new secondary education program has meant that, while enrollment in upper-level biology laboratory courses has increased, the college has been unable to provide students with the hands-on laboratory experiences essential to preservice teachers. The conceptual foundation and thorough understanding gained through advanced laboratory experiments greatly enhances the entering teachers' ability to teach secondary-school science. The use of current technology in molecular biology and biotechnology, including differential centrifugation, ultraviolet spectrophotometric DNA analysis, and gel electrophoresis is a necessary practice, not a luxury. The preservice teacher has a particularly important role in the education of underrepresented groups. With a student enrollment that is 75 percent African American, this college has a long record of service to the nontraditional, first-generation college student from an economically disadvantaged background. Most participants are minority women themselves and, upon graduation, are likely to teach in predominantly minority, urban schools, mainly in the City of St. Louis. The long-range impact may be that a new generation of well-prepared teachers are making their own students ready for the challenges of the 21st century.
