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Dr. Kay Grimnes

Faculty Profile: Dr. Kay Grimnes

Dr. Kay Grimnes, professor of biology, believes her free time spent writing haiku makes her a better biologist. "It reminds me to pay attention to detail," she said.

Grimnes began writing haiku in 2000 and has numerous poems published in magazines like Modern Haiku, Frogpond and Heron's Nest. She enjoys haiku because it consists of small thoughts that can be polished until they are finished.

thunderhead
a mass of starlings
splits in two

first snow
the baby's fingers
close around nothing

August vacation
even the spinach
has bolted

Teaching at Alma since 1986, Grimnes said her career allows her to satisfy the things she cares about most: teaching and advising.

"I am really happy to work with students. We can work together through their problems," she said.

Biology interests for Grimnes lie in the area of insect reproductive physiology. At present, she is studying the pickle beetle at Sparks Pickle Company in Ithaca. The company is owned by Alma alumnus Tom Sparks.

Grimnes received her B.A. degree in zoology from the University of South Florida, and her Ph.D. in zoology from Michigan State University.

Her major teaching areas are developmental and invertebrate biology and immunology.

 

Since 2003, twenty-three Alma College students have won prestigious national fellowships, scholarships and awards, including 13 Fulbright fellowships and multiple Udall, Truman, Marshall and Gates-Cambridge scholarships.

 

Graduate Profile

Amy Dailey
Graduation: 1997
Major: Biology

Amy Dailey, a 1997 graduate of Alma College, is a faculty member at the University of Florida Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics in Gainesville, Fla.

"Alma's biology department gave me a strong foundation in biology, which prepared me well for a career in public health."