Dean's Message - April 2024

A message sent by Dean DeWalt to the CBS community on April 12, 2024.

Colleagues,

It’s hard to believe we are only a month away from commencement. I look forward to celebrating the achievements of our undergraduate and graduate students this May. The class of 2024 went through the pandemic early in their academic journey and demonstrated incredible resilience. Many missed out on high school commencement ceremonies, which makes the opportunity to gather in person for this rite of passage all the more special. I look forward to celebrating their achievement May 11 at 3M Arena at Mariucci and hope you will join us!

Faculty and Staff Celebration
Speaking of celebrating achievements, we will recognize the great work of our faculty and staff on May 9. It will be a chance to recognize and connect with colleagues, enjoy food and refreshments, and hear about some CBS highlights from the past year. A calendar invitation was sent out last week. No need to RSVP. Just show up if you are able. Hope to see you there!

On a related note, the Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biophysics will host a retirement celebration for Dr. Dave Bernlohr on May 3. He steps down as department head this summer after nearly three decades in the role and plans to retire at the end of 2024. Faculty, staff and alumni will gather to celebrate his many accomplishments, including being named a 2024 American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Fellow! Find more information and RSVP here. 

CSE and CBS Leads Leadership Development Program
The College is partnering with CSE and the Office of Human Resources’ Talent Strategy team to offer a program for emerging faculty leaders next academic year. The CSE and CBS Leads Leadership Development Program is designed to build strong professional relationships among faculty and senior leadership in both colleges. Associate and full professors are encouraged to apply. Find more information about the program and the application process here.

Opportunities to engage
In the coming months, there are some great opportunities to connect with other members of the CBS community as they share their science insights, as well. 

  • Petri Dish conversations on April 17 exploring the comparison between humans and primates and on May 8 revisiting the nature versus nurture debate. Each panel includes at least one CBS faculty member. This time around, Dr. Mike Wilson will represent CBS on the first panel discussion, and Dr. Marlene Zuk and Dr. Arslan Zaidi will be on hand for the second conversation. CBS faculty and staff can reserve tickets using the promo code “CBS.”

  • Cedar Creek has a great lineup of Lunch With a Scientist talks, Ecology Book Club meetings and much more. You can see the complete lineup of offerings here. They also have volunteer opportunities, including upcoming RESCUE garden dates.

  • CBS is co-sponsoring the Bell Museum’s SciPride event again this June in conjunction with Pride Month. They  will showcase the work of LGBTQIA+ scientists at Spotlight Science on June 29. LGBTQIA+ students, faculty, and research staff across the University interested in participating can fill out the Sci Pride 2024 interest form.

I’m also pleased to share that Shannon Langenfeld joined the CBS Dean’s Office as executive assistant earlier this month. Prior to joining CBS, Shannon worked for a Minneapolis-based non-profit focused on energy and environment solutions. As executive assistant, Shannon is the first point of contact for visitors to the Dean’s Office and provides administrative support to college leadership. We are so excited to welcome Shannon to CBS!

Thank you for all your effort as we enter the final stretch of this academic year. I am so grateful for all that you do to help us achieve our mission every day.

Best regards,

Saara J. DeWalt
Dean, College of Biological Sciences