Alumni Profiles Series: Marion McClary

Marion McClary received his B.S. in marine science from Richard Stockton State College of New Jersey, now Stockton University, and received his Ph.D. in zoology from Duke University. He is a behavioral and physiological ecologist interested in how behavior and physiology influence ecology. At Fairleigh Dickinson University (FDU), Dr. McClary is chair of the Department of Biological Sciences. Outside of the academy, he enjoys serving his community and does so through active involvement on numerous environmental, civic, and advisory boards.

What is your favorite thing about your current role?

I get to do research with students. They're kind of like my hands, because I'm busy teaching or being a chair or other things. I get to work with them, and I want it to be something they're interested in because I remember when I was a grad student, when things weren't working, if you didn’t have stake in the project, sometimes you might want to give up.

What professional or career plans did you have in mind while you were completing your degree?

I went to Richard Stockton College in New Jersey, near Atlantic City. (It's now Stockton University). The professors would complain about what they were paid. They were kind of loud about it. So, hearing that, I didn't want to be a professor. Going into graduate school, I had asked the professors, “What else can you do besides be a professor?” They really didn't give me a straight answer. So I [found myself] walking down the professor path. Later [as a professor at a meeting], I was sitting near someone at NOAA, and I asked them about what jobs they had available, as I was still trying to avoid staying a professor. He said, “We really don't have any. We have one person with a Ph.D., and that's the head person, and we're not planning to hire any more. We mostly contract out to university professors.” And that's when it hit me that being a professor is not that bad.

You are super involved in outreach. What motivated you to seek out service opportunities?

I'm the type that doesn't like to say no. The chair of the department at FDU at the time introduced me to people who were part of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. FDU was in Watershed Management Area 5, and at the time, New Jersey had funds to get people to do the work that they couldn't do in this area. There were many committees, and I joined them. Once the state ran out of money for the watershed management areas, everybody that was involved in the meetings dissolved. But I got to know the people, and those people were on other environmental boards, like the Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions. Plus, I saw a connection [between my research and the motivations of various committees]. I’m interested in the response of marine animals to pollution. If the committees work to improve the environment, then things will survive. Could someone use surviving organisms to determine if the environment was improved? Could animals be indicators of pollution? I loved [being on the committees], and it just grew from there, knowing people and being asked to serve on various boards and stuff like that. And the reason I do it is because, of course, for [university] service, but at the same time I like studying barnacles.

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What career advice do you wish you’d listened to more?

If you want to become a professor, decide what kind of professor you want to be. Do you want to be in an environment where it's not just publish or perish? Do you want an environment concerned about the dollar amount on the grant? Or do you want to be a professor where it's mostly about teaching?

If you want to have Ph.D. students in the future, do a postdoc and get enough publications so that you get to an environment where you have Ph.D. students. That way you can survive the publish or perish environment, so to speak.

What advice do you have for current graduate students?

As a Ph.D. student, I would go back and read my proposal to get reenergized and remember why I'm doing this. And I would just be able to jump back in and keep going because I had some stake in it. Re-reading your proposals helps you push ahead. You remember why you're getting your degree and what your initial interests and passions were. While I was picking up what my Ph.D. advisor was doing, I was also taking it a step further. I had to remind myself of that. I always say to students to have ownership of the project, you know, so that they are more invested in it and it becomes theirs.

Also, if your advisor says, "Take a break,” take a break.

What is one of your favorite memories of Duke?

I remember going to a seminar from central campus, where other graduate students and I lived and would sometimes walk together to or from seminar. I liked to go because you would hear the research that people were doing, and so that was a fun time. At Duke Marine Lab they had a Mostly Marine Informal Seminar Series (MMISS). It was grad-student run, and you would use this to prepare for your prelims or your defense. You would just present to your fellow students, and they'd give ideas about what they thought, what they didn't understand and what you needed to fix.

Author

Hannah Kania

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Ph.D. candidate, Biology

Hannah Kania is a fourth-year Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Biology. She conducts research in speciation biology and genomics. Hannah holds a B.A. in Developmental Genetics from the University of California, Berkeley. Prior to attending Duke, Hannah worked at the University of Michigan as a lab technician studying yeast genetics. She is passionate about science communication and outreach and has participated in multiple science dissemination initiatives throughout her professional career; you can read more about them on her website.