John Navaratnam, Ph.D.

215 Woodburn Hall

John Navaratnam is a teaching associate professor and associate chair for undergraduate advising, recruitment, and retention in the Department of Biology. He earned his BSc degree in Microbiology at University of Alberta, his MS in Ecosystem Ecology at Villanova University and his PhD in Biology at West Virginia University. Since 2013, Navaratnam has developed and taught courses which serve students in majors across the university. He has advised undergraduate students in Biology and Biochemistry and was awarded the Nicholas Evans Award for Excellence in Advising from the university.

Navaratnam has worked with the Eberly College Office of Academic Affairs in creating and implementing academic policies, developing curriculum, student recruitment and retention, new student orientation, and establishing best practices in academic advising within the Biology major, some of which have been implemented across the College and University. In recent months, with the University’s response to the pandemic, he has served on committees that have worked to develop strategies to tackle new teaching modalities and course scheduling demands. In his role as Eberly College Leadership Fellow, he looks forward to working with the leadership of the Deans Office in the areas of academic programs and curriculum development and assessment and to further meet the challenges of our current academic landscape.