A message from Dean DeWalt sent to the CBS community on December 8, 2023. 

Colleagues,

With the end of the semester in sight, I wanted to say a heartfelt thank you for all your hard work. I spent the past few months immersed in all things CBS, and I am truly impressed by the incredible work happening across the college. Your dedication to our students and to our education, research and outreach mission is absolutely inspiring. I’m also impressed by the students I’ve met through the Dean’s Scholars Program, the CBS Student Board town hall, the Life Sciences Graduate School Fair, the Recognition and Appreciation Dinner, and a visit to BioTechne. They are so eager to engage and learn. 

We have an opportunity to celebrate some of them next week. Each fall, more than 100 CBS undergraduate students complete their degrees. Many return to celebrate the milestone at commencement in the spring. For some, however, circumstances make that untenable. With that in mind, we will recognize our previous summer and this fall’s graduates at our inaugural CBS Fall Graduation Reception next week. This new event is one of the ways I hope to expand recognition for the achievements of our students and the contributions of CBS faculty, staff, students and alumni. I hope you are planning to attend and help us celebrate.

Over the last month, I met with many faculty across the college and celebrated those who were promoted last year. I also had the opportunity to attend a number of team meetings that have allowed me to connect with staff and learn about the many unique services and functions that strengthen CBS. I have appreciated getting to meet so many of you, learn from you, and connect over a shared interest in making CBS the best it can be. I plan to continue to do so this spring. CBS Student Services has generously provided an office for me to use on the East Bank, so I look forward to continuing to connect with you all across both campuses. 

In addition to meeting with the community, I spent time getting to know CBS spaces and collections. You may have seen me touring facilities on East Bank, St. Paul and Cedar Creek. I appreciate the impromptu tours many of you gave when Christina Kramer and I popped in. 

I also had the chance to explore the CBS Conservatory & Botanical Collection in more depth. It’s an incredible place, which provides access to a living encyclopedia of flora from around the world to students, faculty and the community. It’s one of the unique education and research resources here in the college. After a hiatus, it is now open to the public on weekdays. I encourage you to check it out and escape the Minnesota winter for a bit. I certainly plan to!

With that, I hope you have an excellent end of semester and take time to relax and recharge later this month.

Best regards,

Saara DeWalt
Dean, College of Biological Sciences