Campus & Community

Long ago, on a faraway Aleutian island, a pair of rare beaked whales got stranded. One was saved by biologists and swam back out to sea. The other perished and its skeleton now hangs inland, thousands of miles from home.

Ask students in the College of Biological Sciences (CBS) who the associate dean of undergraduate programs is, and odds are many wouldn’t know. But the behind-the-scenes impact Michele Igo has made on their experience is profound. 

California’s Tule Fog is always thick, but not always as persistent as it has been lately. With finals concluded last week and the students home, campus has been grey, cold and dreary – until today. For the first time in almost two weeks, blue sky was visible, the sun was out, and we were reminded of how beautiful our region is.

We are in the tail-end of the year. The quarter is in full swing, midterms are behind us and campus continues to bustle. There’s been no shortage of activity this fall, and I was very pleased to see UC Davis recognized as one of the top 10 public universities in the nation. 

Weeks-long lab experiments on color-changing soil microbes and live mosquitoes, small-group discussions, and conceptual course design: these might sound like the hallmarks of upper-division science courses, but they’re all part of the BIO123 Series, the innovative new UC Davis introductory biology curriculum.

Each year, the college presents teaching, research and Principles of Community awards to recognize exceptional contributions by CBS faculty and staff.

The teaching and research awards, given to faculty, recognize impact by faculty in the classroom, the laboratory, and within their disciplines. This year, two faculty members received the teaching award, and one received the research award.

Almost overnight, the season changed from the usual Davis summer heat to fall, which is a welcome shift—the wind is up, the skies are a little grayer, the days are shorter and, most importantly, the students are back.

The college is very pleased to have welcomed four new faculty during the 2025 calendar year. Joining the Departments of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Evolution and Ecology, and Molecular and Cellular Biology, each new faculty member adds expertise and breadth to the college’s research and teaching portfolio.

The UC Davis College of Biological Sciences (CBS) is launching a major revision of its introductory biology curriculum, known as the BIO123 Series, beginning this academic year. This initiative modernizes the long-standing BIS2A/B/C sequence, which was introduced in 2008 and has grown to serve over 9,000 students annually. Offering introductory biology comprises over 30% of CBS’s total student credit hours.

Vision neuroscientist Marie E. Burns has been appointed the sixth director of the Center for Neuroscience (CNS), effective July 1, 2025, after serving as interim director for the past year.

A professor with joint appointments in the departments of Ophthalmology and Vision Science, and Cell Biology and Human Anatomy in the School of Medicine, Burns brings more than 20 years’ leadership experience to the role.