Dr. William Baxendale
Associate Professor, Department of Biology
Office: 213J or 204AScience Building
Telephone: 303-352-4261
Email: baxendal@mscd.edu

Biography
Dr. Baxendale, known as Dr. B to many of his students, graduated with a B.A. in Biology from Hiram College in Hiram, Ohio. There with the guidance of Dr. Lawrence Berg, he developed an interest in botany. He earned his Master of Arts in Biology from the State University College of New York at Geneseo, in Geneseo, NY, where he developed an interest in plant ecology while working with Dr. Arch Reid. In 1977 he graduated with a Ph.D. in botany/paleobotany from the University of Kansas, in Lawrence, Kansas. His work at Kansas with Dr. Robert Baxter focused on the paleobotany of the Pennsylvanian age, especially on the anatomy, morphology, and palynology of plants found in coal balls. A postdoctoral year at the University of Reading (England), where he worked on the Jurassic flora of northern England with Dr. Tom Harris and the plants of the English coal measures with Dr. Peter Barnard extended his interest in paleobotany. In 1978 Dr. Baxendale spent a short time at Arizona State University with Dr. James Canright, where he extended his interest in palynology. Since then Dr. Baxendale has taught at several different institutions of higher education, spent seven years as a biostratigrapher for Amoco Production Company, and five years as a Visiting Professor at Cornell University working on the horticulture and plant-insect interactions of fruit trees and woody ornamentals.

Professional interests:
Plants of the Rocky Mountains and tall grass prairie, anatomy and morphology of plants, economic botany, plant-insect interactions of woody ornamentals and turfgrass, paleobotany/palynology, especially of the Pennsylvanian age.

Professional memberships
American Association of Stratigraphic Palynologists
Botanical Society of America
Colorado Biology Teachers Association
Entomological Society of America

Courses taught at Metropolitan State College of Denver
BIO 390N Economic Botany
BIO 3xxx Introduction to Paleobotany (This course is proposed for Fall 2006)
BIO 1000 Human Biology for NonMajors
BIO 2100 General Botany
Bio 2100 General Botany Lab Schedule
BIO 3160 Plant Anatomy
BIO 3140 Plant Physiology
BIO 3180 Vascular Plant Taxonomy
BIO 4850 Evolution

Advising specialities
Biology
Botany
Horticulture
Botany; What can I do with this degree? Look at this site to see what careers are open to graduates in botany
Careers in Botany. This website of the Botanical Society of America has good sections on Requirements for a Career in Botany and Career and Employment Opportunities
Requesting letters of recommendation

Internet Links to Neat Places
United States and International Links to Places Botanical
Google Directory to Botany A phenomenal directory to botanical information on the Internet!
Google Directory to Sites about Plants And the rest of the phenomenal list of sites is here!
Links to Botanical Gardens Worldwide Botanical gardens are not only great places to visit, they also do a great deal of useful research.
International Paleobotany Links Looking for information on paleobotanists or paleobotany? Try here!
Virtual Paleobotany Site Want a good short course on paleobotany? This is a great start!

Colorado Links
Denver Botanical GardensDenver’s botanical garden specializes in alpine plants.
Colorado State Herbarium There is much useful information here about Colorado’s flora, as well as information about the botanists who explored Colorado’s unique flora!
Colorado Flora and Fauna More good information about the plants of Colorado.