"One of the things I like best about teaching," says Ray Heithaus, the Philip and Sheila Jordan professor of environmental science, "is seeing the light go on when people make connections between biology and the other things they're doing."

An expert on tropical ecology-and a former editor of that field's major journal, Biotropica-Heithaus is unusually attuned to the webs of interdependence in the world. When he talks to students about the destruction of tropical rain forests, for example, he stresses the socioeconomic problems of poor nations that exploit natural resources to pay mounting debts. And when he teaches environmental issues, Heithaus doesn't neglect Kenyon's own backyard. It is important to "integrate global issues with the nitty-gritty" of local problems, he believes.

Heithaus, who is also co-director of the College's Brown Family Environmental Center, values the close connections between professors and students at Kenyon. Biology majors not only collaborate with professors in research projects, but also serve on hiring committees, help select visiting speakers, and participate in an advisory committee on departmental issues.

"One of the things I like best about Kenyon," Heithaus says, "is that individuals can make a difference."