How does one encapsulate a rich and meaningful experience? Do we list the amount of money made, improvements accomplished, newspaper articles published or scientific papers accepted? Some important decisions can only be appreciated years later and some are made and instantly forgotten amidst the fast pace of academia. I judge my life by the people in it, and this has been a fantastic experience getting to know so many interesting, dedicated and insightful people at FHL, on San Juan Island, in the United States and internationally. I tell my students at all the marine labs we visit: leave your lab space and living quarters better than you found them. Keep up the great traditions, and make new ones!
2014 - 2019 Director FHL – Innovations & Renovations
Academics:
I collaborated with UW's School of Oceanography and School of Aquatic Fisheries Sciences to establish a new Marine Biology major in 2019 within the College of the Environment at UW. We also created an FHL course prefix for all fall, spring and summer classes for the first time in 110 years! FHL is now listed in UW's course catalogue.
Research & Funding:
We acquired a CT scanner for FHL's Karl S. Liem Imaging Facility in 2015, via extremely generous funding (private and UW) totaling $300,000. This technology has enabled several new grants and at least two Twitter hashtags (
#ScanAllFishes and
#ScanAllVertebrates). I strove to increase diversity in the marine sciences through a unique Research Experience for Undergraduates program at the Labs funded by a Blinks endowment, the National Science Foundation and BEACON. I teamed with FHL's Advancement Board to establish fundraising priorities for the UW Campaign, and together we have raised $10,000,000+ in the last seven years. We have worked with the College of the Environment and the UW Provost to create two new term Faculty Fellowships which pay faculty from the UW campus to come to FHL and bring their research and teaching programs with them for three years. We extend our heartfelt thanks to Bill Calvin and Katherine Graubard for their generosity in establishing one of the fellowships. Likewise, we are grateful to Jim Truman and Lynn Riddiford for their foresight in establishing an Endowed Professorship which in the future will hire a UW Biology faculty member to live and do research here at the Labs.