Rethinking the Ph.D. dissertation in botany: Widening the circle.

The historian of the botanical sciences Andrew Denny Rodgers ([22]) insightfully noted that the years 1873-1892 were indeed "decades of transition", that saw the growth of the botanical sciences in these varied institutional contexts in the United States and that placed demands on botanists as professionals in contrast to self-taught "amateurs", now formally trained in areas of research and teaching. Public perceptions of science and scientists are generally positive in the United States (Pew Research Center, [19]; Funk et al., [8]), and one theme that resonates particularly strongly is the importance of conveying scientific findings; 80% of those surveyed ranked this point highly (American Academy of Arts and Sciences, [1]). New (or renewed) interest in science, especially in the context of botanical science, can inspire involvement in community science projects or motivate people to embrace a field in which they previously had no exposure or interest, often with new commitment for conservation and the public good. [Extracted from the article]