Brian Gaylord receives the 2020 College of Biological Sciences Faculty Teaching Award

Please join us in congratulating Brian Gaylord, who has been awarded the College of Biological Sciences Faculty Teaching Award!

This award is given each year to a Professor who has consistently exhibited excellence in undergraduate teaching.  Brian has a long track record of outstanding teaching, both on the main campus and at the Bodega Marine Laboratory, and he is deeply respected and admired by his students and colleagues.

Brian's Reaction To This Award:

"I feel very honored and humbled by this award.  Students are one of the true joys of my professional life.  

I entered the field of marine science with interests in both ecology and ocean processes, and strive to convey the wonders of both in my courses.  One of my primary goals is to help students practice deep and critical thinking, because the world is a complex place.  Rarely do important problems have simple solutions.

I'm also acutely aware that sit-and-listen strategies for teaching are poor vehicles for true learning.  Such methods allow for information transfer but do little to build skills in discerning fact from rhetoric, for example.  The latter requires puzzling through conflicting lines of evidence, careful evaluation of data, and assessment of logical consistency.  Therefore I take every opportunity to engage students in ways that allow for more back and forth, and that encourages consideration of nuances.  Operating as a "sage on the stage" is silly in this regard; instead, I try to get to know students as individual people, to meet them where they are at, and to do so with respect for their unique backgrounds, experiences, and aspirations."

~ Brian Gaylord

We Asked A Former Student What It's Like To Have Brian As a Teacher:

"If you have had the opportunity to be a student of Brian's, you understand the positive influence he has had on your education and life. If you haven't yet had the chance to be a part of Brian's classroom, I only hope that one day you do. Whether we were in a classroom, a lab, or in the field, Brian seamlessly adapted to teaching in any format or environment by connecting with his students and engaging with them in the experience of learning. He is able to relate to people from all walks of life and is dedicated to inspiring a new generation of scientific leaders. Brian facilitated my development as the researcher I am today, and he has not only impacted my life throughout my undergraduate career at UC Davis, but has continued to influence my life throughout graduate school as well. He is one of the few professors I have met that genuinely cares about his students' futures and continues to mentor them both outside of the classroom and post-graduation."

~ Shelby Bacus