Berea College

Berea College is committed to providing its students with the best-possible education. And when it comes to learning human anatomy, there’s nothing else quite as effective as examining cadavers. Research shows that students learning anatomy who dissected cadavers had better learning outcomes than students who only studied books, software, and models. That’s why when the Margaret A. Cargill building was first being planned, Dr. Sarah Blank, Associate Professor of Anatomy and Physiology, led an effort to include what Berea would need to properly—and respectfully—store and learn from human cadavers. 

Thanks to her efforts and the generosity of Dr. Jane McLamarrah and Michael Kohl, Berea’s cadaver lab is a reality. “I’m very pleased to have donors interested,” Dr. Blank said. “We can’t do it without them, and I’m very thankful.” Like Dr. Blank, Kohl and McLamarrah understand how important cadaver-based pedagogy is for students majoring in medical fields—they’ve also funded a similar facility at another university. 

Dr. Blank is creating a new human anatomy course, one centered around learning from cadavers. This is a rare and valuable opportunity for Berea’s students—only two other institutions in Kentucky give undergraduates the chance to learn by performing their own dissections. As a pilot program for this new course, Dr. Blank led four students in dissecting Berea’s first cadaver last summer. The body they studied was purchased from Wright State University, where it was donated through their anatomical gift program. Her students’ mental well-being is a priority for her—Dr. Blank knows that dissections can be intense for undergraduates. That’s why she made a point of checking in with the students every day to make sure they were emotionally prepared for the work. 

One of the students who participated, Bryant ’25, reflected on how “I didn’t know human anatomy as well as I thought I did.” All his previous knowledge of anatomy had come through studying pictures, diagrams, and life-size models. “When I had to apply that knowledge to a human cadaver,” he said, “I realized that knowing it from a model or picture didn’t mean that I could easily identify it on a cadaver.” The complicated, three-dimensional reality of the human body is something very difficult to convey through models and diagrams. “Being able to dissect a body puts together all the different layers of the human body and how different body systems relate to each other,” Bryant said. “I don’t believe that’s feasible if you don’t examine the different structures for yourself.” 

Dr. Blank hopes to have cadaver-based courses available for student enrollment by Fall 2025. “These courses will improve human anatomy instruction,” she said, “both for our pre-med and pre-physical therapy students who will be performing dissections and also for all other Anatomy and Physiology students who will be studying and learning from the dissected cadavers in their courses.” Thanks to the generosity of Kohl and McLamarrah and the hard work of Dr. Blank, Berea’s students will soon have yet another incredible learning opportunity to enrich their education. 

Berea College has always been committed to serving the community, and one very exciting way the College puts that into practice is through the Margaret A. Cargill building’s Yahng Discovery Center (YDC). The YDC helps the local community, and especially nearby K-12 schools, to benefit from the resources and expertise in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and healthcare that Berea College has worked to bring together.

Andi ’26, a Biology major who plans to become a physician’s assistant, works in the YDC for her labor position. Andi is a Bonner scholar, a program that gives students the chance to serve the community, and Andi picked working in the YDC. “I chose to work in the Yahng Discovery Center,” she said, because “as a biology major, I feel like that connects most directly to my career.”

Every year the YDC launches a wide variety of programs to support science education. From lectures on the nature of dark matter to an introduction to computer programming to the annual Women in STEM Celebration, the resources provided by the Yahng Discovery Center are a wonderful support for educators and students. Andi was responsible for planning last spring’s Women in STEM event at the YDC. She organized a panel consisting of Dr. Lauren Ballou, a biologist, Dr. Suzanne Birner, a geologist (both Berea professors), and several prominent women working in STEM fields from Centre College and University of Louisville. “They all did a panel and Q&A, talking about their stories and how they’ve dealt with their career path as a woman in STEM,” Andi said. “It was really fun.”

Andi’s work in the YDC has shown her that she’s capable of more than she ever thought. “I’ve learned a lot about how much I’m able to achieve,” she said. “Until you’re given the opportunity to be creative, you don’t really know how creative you can be.” The key to unlocking that creativity for Andi and her colleagues is the trust placed in them by professors like Dr. Jon Saderholm, who supervises their work. “Dr. Saderholm is really an amazing boss,” said Andi, “I really appreciate his work style. The independence he gives us is a little bit intimidating, but he gives us all the tools we need in order to succeed and just helps us piece things together.”

The YDC is a valuable resource for the community, but just as important are the opportunities and experience it gives Berea students like Andi. For all the students working in the Yahng Discovery Center, there’s no limit to what they might discover about themselves and what they’re able to achieve with the support of their Berea community. And who knows: one of those K-12 students who visits the YDC may grow up to become a renowned scientist like John Fenn ’37, whose Nobel Prize is displayed in the MAC building atrium.

On the bottom floor of the Margaret A. Cargill building is something a bit unusual: the herpetarium where Biology professor Dr. Roy Scudder-Davis houses an impressive collection of snakes. Eager to share them with the campus community, he and his teaching assistants set aside time every week for Bereans to visit. He says, “I’m always happy to have people from campus come see the snakes.” These animals have been a lifelong passion for him: “I always liked snakes, which is why I became a biologist,” he said, “I’ve owned snakes since the 4^th grade, and my first snakes were a pair of boas.” Today, he cares for over a hundred snakes from more than thirty different species in the MAC building herpetarium, along with several turtles and lizards.

The variety of snakes housed in the herpetarium is remarkable. “This is a better collection than a lot of zoos have,” said Dr. Scudder-Davis. He shares them not just with those on campus, but with everyone in the local area as well. Five or six times a year, he holds snake shows at nearby schools and libraries where he offers people the chance to learn about and handle some of these fascinating animals. He’s been helping the community learn about snakes for a long time: “I got started doing snake shows for my son’s kindergarten class. He’s 36 now,” said Dr. Scudder-Davis.

These snake shows are a great learning opportunity for the local parents and children who attend. Dr. Scudder-Davis and his teaching assistants bring a wide sampling of the herpetarium’s snakes, both large and small—and even some, like the eastern indigo snake, which are rare and threatened. He educates attendees about the snakes, and then gives them the opportunity to touch and handle them as his assistants carry them around the room.

The snakes Dr. Scudder-Davis cares for also have a role in Berea students’ education. When he teaches herpetology courses, this vast collection provides a ready supply of subjects for students to learn from. Other professors who teach general studies courses on science also love to bring their classes by for hands-on learning. Whether they’re students of science, lovers of animals, or just curious, Bereans have an excellent resource for learning about snakes thanks to Dr. Scudder-Davis and the MAC building herpetarium.