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.

This will be a year of change. The current national landscape is one of continual change and unexpected challenges. It is a difficult time to be in higher education, though not one without optimism. Over the summer, our faculty continued to publish outstanding work on topics as varied as the cell structure of nematodes, to the way some snails can regrow their eyes. And this will continue. 

The 2025-26 year also marks my final year as dean of the college. In June of 2026, I will step down and return to the classroom. By then, I will have spent a decade here at UC Davis. That time has been filled with notable moments and successes, which are the result of our remarkable faculty, staff and students. Despite the current landscape, I know that the college’s strong foundation in teaching, research and service will continue to pay dividends far into the future. 

I am also very proud to share two notable happenings here in the college, which take place this year. The first is the launch of the BIO123 Series of overhauled introductory biology curriculum. More will be communicated about the series in the months to come, but for now I thank all those who have made it possible, including donors to the college whose contributions enabled critical renovations to our teaching laboratory spaces. 

The second is that 2025 marks the 20th anniversary of our founding as a college. There’s a lot more to come on that front, too, but for now my thanks to all those who have contributed to the ongoing success of our college. The last twenty years have seen advances across disciplines in the life sciences, and the next twenty will, too. 

Last week, I told our incoming class of over 2,000 new students that there will always be a need for basic science, for exploration and discovery, for innovation that drives our world forward. (You can take a look at our welcome event on Instagram.) And that is true.

Here in the college, we will continue to do what we do best: support one another, and advance knowledge and discovery.