Founded in 1899, Texas State University is a doctoral-granting university located in San Marcos, a city of about 65,000 residents situated in the beautiful central Texas Hill Country, 30 miles south of Austin and 48 miles north of San Antonio. The university is among the largest universities in the state with a diverse campus community. As a Hispanic-serving institution, Texas State University is one of the top 13 producers of Hispanic baccalaureate graduates in the nation. Additional information about Texas State University and its nationally recognized academic programs is available at www.txstate.edu.

The Department of Biology at Texas State University is a large, multidisciplinary department with over 50 faculty members engaging in innovative teaching and research ranging from aquatic resources, cell/molecular biology, microbiology, physiology, genetics, and animal behavior to ecology, evolution, and biogeography, including science education and human dimensions. Faculty occupy three buildings across campus including the Supple Science Building, Freeman Aquatic Biology Building, and Ingram Hall. Department members have access to seven university-owned properties, including the Freeman Center (3,500 ac) and the Meadows Center for Water and the Environment located on the Texas State campus, which borders the second largest spring system in Texas and resides along the Balcones Escarpment that divides the rolling hills of the Central TX Hill Country and the Southern plains of the Blackland Prairies.