Biology continues to be one of the most popular majors at UMass with over 800 at last count, and our department continues to hum with activity.  One of the bigger changes that has been happening in recent years is the increasing number of faculty retirees.  As a consequence of the dramatic expansion of the University in the 60's, almost half of the UMass faculty will reach retirement age in the next decade.  In Biology, we have already felt the impact of the wave of retirements (12 in the last 10 years), and this year we will be saying farewell to Stuart Ludlam, David Mulcahy, and Bernard Rubinstein.  As you will read on p4, retirement is often the beginning of a new career phase for faculty as Emeritus Professors, and right now, 7 Emeriti (Ed Davis, Arthur Mange, Jack Palmer, Hal Rauch, Ted Sargent, Art Stern, Bob Wilce), have office or lab space in the Department.  Retirements also provide an opportunity for us to recruit new teachers and researchers, and this year we have been searching for new faculty in Vertebrate Evolution (see p4) and Cell Biology.  Students seem to be especially attracted to work with new faculty (minimal generation gap?), and the fresh ideas they bring to their teaching has a very positive impact throughout the department (see p2).  As we look to the future, further changes are in store, one of which will be 'Distance Learning'.  How does a department that emphasizes hands-on experience in teaching and research labs take maximal advantage of this opportunity?  We would very much like to hear your opinion on this and other aspects of department life - by e-mail, 'snail' mail or any other conduit.   CLFW