This symposium was not only a happy event for the University of Nebraska, but it marked a milestone in the history of the biological sciences here. The symposium celeΒ in the most appropriate way possible, the creation of the new School of Life brated, Sciences and ushered in what I believe will be a period of substantial development for biology on this campus. I am immensely proud of the faculty of this new School, and I have every confidence that the School's reputation and achievements will continue to grow. As you all know, this university has had and still has distinguished scientists in the biological sciences and has offered fme programs at both the undergraduate and graduate level. But both the formation of the School of Ufe Sciences and the construction of the new Ufe Sciences Building promise a brighter future in this important area The School of Life Sciences was formed from the Departments of Botany, MicroΒ biology, and Zoology, together with staff members in Biochemistry (from both the Department of Chemistry and from the former Department of Biochemistry and NutriΒ tion in the College of Agriculture) as well as staff members in the College of Agriculture's Department of Plant Pathology. Our whole notion was to build a core unit in biology that would cross the lines between the College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Agriculture in order to combine strengths which exist in both areas.