The Joint Science department is losing two of its most cherished veterans this spring. Professor Margaret Mathies announced her retirement for the end of the 2001-02 school year at the same time that chemist colleague Robert Pinnell also decided to lay to rest his teaching career. After 37 years teaching biology in the Joint Science department of Claremont McKenna, Pitzer, and Scripps colleges, Mathies, and husband Edward Copeland, will alternate living in Claremont and London. “I view retirement as an extended sabbatical, where I can do research and enjoy London,” Mathies said.

Mathies grew up in Colorado Springs, Colo., and earned a bachelor’s degree in biology at Colorado College, a liberal arts college with about 1,200 students. “It was there that I had a really good biology professor and discovered my love for biology. I also discovered my passion for teaching, as I had the opportunity to serve as a tutor and lab teaching assistant," she said. “Those things came together and I decided that this was what I wanted to do with my life.”

Mathies earned a doctorate degree in microbiology from Case Western Reserve University and went on to teach microbiology, introductory biology, and genetics for two years as an assistant professor at Haverford College. After moving to Claremont to teach general biology and microbiology at Pomona College for a year, Mathies joined the Joint Science department in 1965, a year after the department’s founding. Over the course of her tenure, she has taught introductory biology, human heredity and reproduction (a course for non-majors), immunology, genetics, and bioethics. The latter course was developed and team-taught by Mathies and and CMC philosophy professor Steve Smith.

"New developments in genetics and immunology, as well as new technologies such as cloning and stem cell culture, mean that these topics keep getting more fascinating all the time," Mathies said.

Mathies has been active in college governance, serving on several college committees, as acting dean of faculty at Scripps for a year, and as chair of Joint Science for three years. For the past eight years she has been the faculty director of the Post-Baccalaureate Pre-medical Program for Scripps College, a year-long intensive program for older, returning students to facilitate their entry into medical school. She worked closely with Joint Science biology professor David Sadava on this program.

Sadava says Mathies also has been an advocate of women in science, and has played a major part in the department's efforts to attract and hire more women to the Joint Science faculty. And much like retiring colleague Robert Pinnell, “Meg always cared about the welfare of the students. Students came first,” observed chemistry professor and former dean of the faculty, Tony Fucaloro.

Mathies currently is a visiting research associate at the Imperial Cancer Research Fund Laboratories in London, where she is studying molecular and cellular aspects of the immune response. Working with genetically manipulated "knockout" mice, she has investigated the role of various adhesion molecules such as LFA and ICAm in cellular interactions. This work has resulted in several scientific publications, co-authored with her colleagues at ICRF. Mathies notes that her research has been conducted mainly during the summers and on her sabbaticals, as she finds it hard to take time away from helping students during the school year. "Teaching is always number one. I decided that a long time ago,” Mathies said. “It’s what I enjoy the most.”

In terms of extracurricular activities, Mathies is a founding member of the C.O.W.S. (Claremont Older Women’s Soccer)—a group of women from The Colleges and the community who get together to play soccer on Saturday mornings. She also enjoys singing choral music and has performed with both the Claremont Chorale, and the four-college concert choir. "I love the major choral works like the Mozart Requiem and Bach B-minor Mass,” says Mathies, who--as you may have guessed--will be looking for a choral group to join while in England.

Colleagues say that among her academic and administrative accomplishments, Meg Mathies helped lead efforts to attract and hire more women for the Joint Science Department. She is retiring after 37 years.