Very helpful - go in for office house. It's worth taking the time!

Great prof, teaches for all ways of learning (auditory, visual, etc.); also, very clear on what you are going to have on the exam. Very helpful, too.

one of the best professors i have ever had!

good teacher... very engaging

He makes you want to listen to what he is talking about.

awesome prof. loved his class. likes to let class out early on friday =) easy A for a miami plan class

An amazing teacher who makes class very interesting and funny. You learn a lot and he makes it clear what he wants. He does talk about birds for 5 minutes max and usually relates to the present material. The models really help you visualize what is going on. Very approachable.

He was entertaining and enthusiastic in class, although his models sometimes confused more than helped. I guess if you already know the material you can understand the model. Study the old quizzes and diagrams especially.

The most entertaining and attention holding of the BMZ proffesors is Rusell. His models are sometimes counterproductive, especially when he can't remember what the next step is :) He cracks jokes alot and tells stories about his dog or his bird. He has a stupid dog. Great teacher, taught material well.

Very easy class!!! Prof. Russell really likes to talk about subjects outside of the textbook and it is easy to get him started on other subjects pertaining to the class. He also likes to let class out early on Friday's so that's a plus. AWESOME class for Miami Plan!!!!

He is very interested in the subject and his interest easily rubs off onto the student.

I had him for 115H and 116. He's a very entertaining teacher, but his exam questions are not always easy.

Nice guy. He often takes on too much material to teach in class time, yet the material is still on the tests. Can be frustrating. Expect to talk through his info with another person at LEAST once a week. Test questions are conceptual and can be tough, but his class (BMZ 115H and BMZ 116) taught me how to study and do well in college classes.

Really enthusiastic about the subject matter which makes class more enjoyable. He talks about birds alot, be prepared for that. If you know and understand the vocab it is an easy class.

Great teacher. A great class for business majors. makes you think alot about issues in the environment that can affect the business world.

He is a reallllly nice guy!! You can tell he cares for students. You dont have to do too w ell on the tests to still get an A because half the points are gimme points from attendants and other things. Good guy!

Great guy, cares alot about the material he covers and the students in his class. Made ZOO 121 a little enjoyable and related all material to real life circumstances. If you are interested to problems in the world today, he is definitely your guy!

Dr. Russell is a really cool guy, and he's passionate about his subject. He's a lot of fun with Dr. Hickey. The only thing i don't like is that he goes through the slides too quickly to take notes on them, and while he posts everything on blackboard, I learn best by taking notes in class

He's absolutely awesome. He is very entertaining and very passionate about what he teaches, which really helps with sitting through difficult lectures.

Dr. Russell was very enthusiastic in class and truly cared about the students (even in such large lecture class). He covered the zoology portion of the class and would explain the material in a clear manner, but would often go off onto tangents involving birds (since he's an ornithologist). But he would cut the material he didnt cover from exams.

Russel is very helpful. Even though class isn't mandatory, you have to attend his, because he doesn't put his excellent analogies in the power points. He's a very creative and colorful teacher who focuses on the big picture first, then gets into details. If you're taking BMZ, you MUST take this guy.

Very funny and engaging. Liked him so much I signed up for him again!

I really enjoyed his lectures, but the class could have been organized better. The professor is really enthusiastic about the material and I'd recommend his classes to friends.

Dr. Russell is a great professor. His powerpoints can be quite lengthy. The tests can be a little tricky. You will definitely learn a lot!

Really great guy, happy I took his class. Always encouraging and wants for his students to do well. Class is hard, but he gives students the tools to do well. GO TO LECTURES AND TAKE NOTES! STUDY REGULARLY OR YOU WILL NOT DO WELL!

Dr. Russell is very intelligent, but is not the best professor. He frequently goes off-topic and wasted half of many classes showing pictures of birds for no other reason than to have fun. His material is fairly simple and he teaches it well, but he failed to get through large portions of his lessons on ecology and animal evolution. Don't recommend

Russell was by far my favorite of the three teachers I had for BMZ, very enthusiastic and happy to help and really wanted the students to do well and learn the material. He went off-topic a lot and his power points mainly consisted of bird pictures, but I love him for it.

Russell is by far my most favorite BMZ teacher. He brings enthusiasm to every class which reminds me why i chose to be a Bio major to begin with. He teaches his material with such enthusiasm. His questions are straight forward and follow his power points. I would recommend highly taking a class with him if you ever get the chance!

Loved Dr. Russell as a person. He's hilarious in a very nerdy way. If you get him with Hickey, the class will be amazing. 115 was the only class that I wasn't constantly looking at my watch for. He can be a little unclear with explanations and he's a big fan of telling stories to teach, but his exam questions are fair.

Russell was the best liked out of the three profs I had for 116. He is very clear and easy to understand and his questions are usually the easiest on exams. Just make sure to keep up with the material because there are quizzes every Friday (usually) and these end up making up 20% of your grade. Therefore, you really need to study a lot!

Russell is always there for his students. I don't think his exams were fair, but I learned so much. He is super enthusiastic and makes gen bio less boring.

Dr. Russell is a fantastic teacher. I had him for BIO115 freshman year and he was very enthusiastic and really cares for his students. He' s funny and loves talking about birds lol. Dr. Russell is a tough teacher but a really good one. Lectures aren't too boring but you have to go to class and take notes to do well on exams. Pop quizzes weekly.

Mr. Russell is a great teacher. His class is interesting but he does go off on tangents a lot. However, his exams are straight to the point and his papers are basically all or nothing credit. If you show up, it's very easy to get an A and you will learn a lot. He has a lot of great experiences and his class was very interesting. Would take again.

BIO 115 is an extremely hard class regardless of what professor you take it with. Dr. Russell is one of the most passionate professors I've had at miami. His lectures are extremely in-depth which can be difficult at times but if you reach out to him for help he is definitely willing to help.

Great Professor. Exams are not easy, but you'll do well and feel rewarded when you work hard for a good grade.

Dr. Russell overall is a good professor and anyone taking his class should not be that worried. He loves teaching a does a lot to make lectures interesting, but you really really have to go to class. Russell tests you over everything that he says in class and you can't rely on only the powerpoints. He has a tendency to go off topic.

Russell is really a sweet guy. He loves his job and its obvious. His lectures can be a bit disorganized and hard to pick out whats important. The class is hard. But his energy is so positive it makes it bearable. LOVES BIRDS!

Dr. Russell is absolutely amazing. Relatively easy A if you study and put the time in. Lectures are extremely interesting and makes the information relatable. Overall, I highly recommend take BIO 115/116 with Russell! OH and he loveeeeeess birds.

Hes definitely passionate about biology. He can go off on some pretty long tangents but I found most of them interesting. His exams are pretty easy and he definitely wants students to succeed

Be prepared to listen to Dr. Russell lecture as you will not gain anything from his powerpoints. IF you take copious notes it is very possible to get an A. Beware that his tests do get progressively more difficult but if you work hard you will still at least get a high B. The mini exams are a life saver.

If you're a bio major with any interest in birds, you should take ornithology with Dr. Russell. You can tell how much he cares about the subject and his students. He doesn't follow the textbook or put a lot of info on his slides, so be prepared to pay attention and take good notes.

Dr. Russell is a super great guy and so much fun to listen to. His lectures are very anecdotal so it's important to pick out what is important from his stories, but it is possible to do well. The SI sessions really help as well. If you love birds, Dr. Russell is your guy because that's pretty much all he talks about.

Went into this class expecting to hate it but Russell made it a good time. He is one of the smartest people I have ever met and knows an incredible amount about the environment. Lectures are interesting but off-topic, the exams come totally from the book. He is a very easy grader. Make sure to start the Ohio 50 Project early in the semester.

Great professor, really wants you to learn. Rambles a lot, so may be a bit tougher for weed out courses like 115/116.

Dave is so passionate about ornithology it's impossible to not enjoy this class. I left this class learning more than I have in any other class.

Dr Russell is awesome. He is personable, fun to listen to, and truly cares for his students. However, you have to work for a good grade in this class. This class will teach you how to study and takes a ton of effort, but he will do anything to help you. He posts his powerpoints online which is super helpful, as he can move quickly in class.

Russel is a really cool guy. He's super passionate about birds, so he uses them as examples in most of his lectures. His lectures are full of energy but can be a little to follow. When he says you need to draw something out to understand it, draw it out. He always has really interesting examples about lecture content.

I took his BIO 116 class. here is what I did: 1. before the semester: ran through the course material myself, which is pretty similar to the AP bio syllabus2during sem:read through his ppt and do research, make study cards, go to SI revision sessions to enhance your cards. rev.

Super interesting lectures! Explain the material REALLY well. Pay attention during class and take notes, it helps a lot.

One of the most passionate professors I've ever had and it shows in his lectures. He goes beyond just the powerpoint to make the connections to real life which is why it's important to go to class. But if you put in the work, you should be fine

Dr. Russell is a very caring professor. He is always willing to answer any question you may have. It is very obvious that he cares for his students and wants them to succeed. However, one thing I did have difficulty with was his Powerpoints. All the information was there, but it was disorganized. He also goes off-topic a lot to talk about birds.

I loved him and his attitude in class, but his tests were hard and you have to take notes. I wrote lots of papers, but they were on current events so it really wasn't too bad. I recommend the class for sure.

You could tell that he wanted the students to do well in his class and that he cared a lot about the subject he was teaching. Was usually very specific about what we would need to study for quizzes and exams and was very flexible about deadlines and giving points back for commonly missed questions.

Dr. Russel has a fun teaching style where we learn through stories or funny anecdotes. It can seem like he is meandering around, but for me, I will never forget that histones are like the garden hose organizers that his son didn't use. He really cares about every student and pours hours into making fair exams. He really wants everyone to succeed.

The out of class work throughout the semester was super light, the only work was when a test was coming up, and even then it was pretty light. Figuring out what to study for the upcoming test was the hardest part, but it is easy to get by with a some effort put in. I recommend him to all students and he loves to have conversations!

Dr. Russell is a very passionate teacher and you can tell he genuinely loves his job and his students. One thing I noticed is that to me, he is too smart to be teaching a 100 level class. His analogies are often hard to relate to and they can be confusing. Make sure you do good on the very few assignments and lab work.

He is really good teacher. You definitely have to be in class to understand the material. He cares about the learning and students

Dr. Russell gets some hate, but I would say he was one of my favorite profs. While you may have to sit through the lengthy talks about bird banding and owl catching, you can tell he really cares about students' understanding. His life motto is to look at the "big picture" of things, so try to see that perspective. Biggest advice- GO TO LECTURES!

Great guy, would recommend his section of 116 to any new biology students. Lectures are very comprehensive and test material very rarely needs to be self taught. Also very funny, so its hard to fall asleep during class.

I love this man! You could tell how passionate he is about biology. I enjoyed his lectures and hearing him talk about his interests in the field. I appreciated how he tied in concepts to the real world. I hate the lack of + and - in grading. Myself and many others were on the verge of an A-/B+ and ended up with a B.

Attending lectures is the way to good. He goes on these tangents but I have ADHD so I followed him and understood him very well. He is very passionate about the work that he does! Ask questions he is very good at explaining things and he is very nice! I enjoyed him a lot.

I loved Russell for 408. I had never been interested in birds but after taking this class my life has literally been altered. Hes so funny and kind, but he definitely gets on side tangents almost every lecture. Be prepared to filter out his stories from actual class content in lecture and take lab seriously -- get as many points as u can early on

Dr. Russell is an amazing professor. He does an amazing job of catering to all biology majors, regardless of interest. He is very passionate about biology and his work in the field. He spends most lectures yapping, but eventually he gets to the point. Exams are a good difficulty level, and there are opportunities for assignment/homework grades.

When he dresses up as Gandalf for Halloween, a part of you will think "Wait, could he actually be the real one?" He gets off topic instantly, but the stories he tells are so wild that you'll never forget them. This class is a blast! Everyone is just chilling! We keep watching Godzilla movies during lab. 10/10 I love bugs because of this guy