Tyler

Claudia Tyler (26/50)

Type
Faculty
Major
Biology

CCS was honored to showcase 50 individuals and activities during our 50th Anniversary in 2017-2018 to share our rich history. Take a look at the amazing people responsible for making our unconventional College possible!   

CCS: Let’s start at the beginning. Where did you go to undergrad and graduate school?

CT: I grew up in the Midwest, actually in Michigan, and people who grow up in Michigan either stay and go to the state school or go to the East Coast. So, that’s what I did—I went to Wellesley College in Boston. I always tell my students who think they are you supposed to know exactly what they want to do—and it's true that we admit students who do know what they want to do—, that it’s okay if you change your mind in part because I did. I started off as a Biology major for a couple of years, but I really hated it. And in retrospect, I hated the kind of stuff I was doing. It was a very pre-Med focused program and a lot of animal dissections, and I had done a lot of that in High School, so I felt like it was a waste. I thought maybe it’s not Biology that I like. As a result, I took a year off in college, and when I came back I was a dedicated Philosophy major. So, my undergrad degree is in Philosophy.

CCS: Oh…wow…no idea you weren’t a Biology major!

CT: I know. I liked Biology; it’s just the study of life. Who couldn’t be excited about that? And even in Philosophy, I took courses on science and ethics—medical ethics, environmental ethics, and history of science—areas that were logic and were science-y. After college I moved to the West Coast and worked at REI and taught sailing. I also did some outdoor education and ran a program called the Whale Bus that was awesome! I drove around in this bus covered in a whale, and taught kids about whales and led whale watching trips. I realized I loved natural history.  The short story is that I took a Marine Ecology course through UC Davis at Bodega Bay, and I thought, “Oh my god, I do love biology.” I decided to go back and get an equivalent of a Bachelor's through the UC Berkeley extension. That is where I honed in ecology, the area of Biology that I really did love.

I applied for different programs, mostly Marine Ecology, and was accepted here at UC Santa Barbara to work with Professor Joe Connell who was such an awesome mentor. He’s a great Field Ecologist and Experimental Ecologist, and I was his last student, allowing me a lot of time with him. It was great! I remember in my interview: I sheepishly admitted “yeah, my Bachelor's was actually in Philosophy,” and he said, and I am paraphrasing, “…that’s fantastic, you got to learn how to think well if you’re going to do science.” Rather than seeing it as a diversion, he saw it as this strength. And I have come to embrace that. I think one of the things that is so cool about CCS is that we see that different ways of thinking can be a real strength for all of the majors. I earned my Ph.D. at UCSB and studied Community Ecology effects of fire in chaparral [shrubland or heathland plant community found primarily in California and in the Northern portion of the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico.] I had such an excellent Ph.D. grad school experience. I continued at UCSB for my postdoc as an Assistant Research Biologist, working with Professors Bruce Mahall and Frank Davis on an oak woodland project. Some of the same research questions I was working on—what really limits establishment of plants into a system—I continue to research today.

CCS: How did you get involved with CCS?

CT: I don’t remember exactly how I heard about the position in CCS—I think it was around 2000. I received my Ph.D. in 1994, and I started at CCS in 2004. I knew that Chris Sandoval was teaching at CCS and they were looking for somebody to teach Walking Biology plus some other Biology courses. I was super excited about that possibility to teach and get to pick the other Biology course that I would teach. I thought Walking Biology would be my total favorite; if I could, in a dream world, choose my favorite class to teach, that’s the one! In my interview, I had a great conversation with Professors Armand Kuris, Bob Warner, and Kathy Foltz. I loved the idea of collaboration among faculty for teaching, and that these were faculty were at CCS because they wanted to be. When I first started at CCS, I taught Walking Biology and that’s the one course I’ve taught consistently the whole time I've been at the College. For the first several years I also taught a two-quarter field course on designing field experiments in Field Ecology. That course was also really hands-on in the field, and that was more for Biology majors. The students would create and carry out experiments. I taught a variety of other courses, including Conservation Ecology. It was bothersome to me the way our students were taught the standard Intro Biology series. So, three years later, when John Latto joined the CCS faculty, I suddenly saw the chance to create our own CCS Intro Biology series because it wouldn’t be me alone teaching it. It was really exciting and John’s been just a fantastic colleague. Together, we were able to take the best of the Intro biology make it more substantial at CCS.

I feel CCS is my thing

CCS: What did you change about the Intro Biology Series?

CT: We didn’t have Intro Biology at CCS so all the students took the first quarter of the huge Intro Biology in Campbell Hall. If they didn’t that in the first quarter, we would give them a pass for the next two. It just didn’t seem like it was the right solution—it’s not really inquiry-based, and it’s not encouraging them to dig into the literature because they don’t really have time. It is more about memorizing the facts, and I felt it wasn’t a good solution to just let students off because it’s good enough to have an overview of the field of Biology. We were recruiting students who had a passion and who wanted to dig in and do science, and we welcomed them by having them take a class where you’re one in a sea of hundreds of students just memorizing to make sure you get the answers right on the multiple choice exams. It didn’t seem consistent with the type of students we were attracting. With the Intro Biology Series we developed, the students got to know each other and learn about their peers—that’s one of the significant advantages of CCS. It’s not just the faculty who care about them, but the value of the interactions among like-minded peers. And, when we introduced our version of the series, we immediately got feedback that they loved the interactivity! The students also loved the class because we got them into really thinking about stuff and not just memorizing.

CCS: Your appointment is half in CCS and half in another department?

CT: That has sort of evolved a bit. Initially, I had a grant for seven years or so as a Research Biologist. I had that position for a while and then I wasn’t successful in getting another halftime research grant. Now, I’m practically teaching all the time. I teach in the Environmental Studies and Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology (EEMB) departments in addition to CCS.  And that’s evolved. Still, I feel CCS is my thing. If you have a 50 percent position, it’s not 50 percent time. CCS is my 50 percent position, but practically100 percent of my thinking and time.

CCS: What’s it like advising CCS students? What differentiates them from other UCSB students?

CT: That’s been so fun for me. When I teach in Environmental Studies, I really like those students too, but they’re different than CCS students. Additionally, this is my second year teaching a class in EEMB. I’ve actually done a bunch of different things. I taught a stem cell ethics class for grad students in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, and a couple of different things for EEMB and those students are similar but different. I think the difference is CCS students are pretty confident that they want to do research.  They are already pretty sure they know what area of Biology they want to go into. I would say, overall, they are a little further along in having figured out what they want to do. I guess that’s the main difference. When I talk to some of my EEMB or Environmental Studies students who are seniors, they’re thinking now about what they might do next. But CCS students are already thinking about what is the next step when they get to CCS. Even though I know that’s a little daunting, I think that's really helpful because that does help them figure things out a little sooner.

CCS: It gives students time to figure out what they want to do next early on in their undergraduate experience instead in their last year.

CT: Yeah. Personally, I don’t really think it matters how long it takes you to figure it out; if once you figure it out it feels good, and you can't regret anything in the past that’s gotten you there. I know all about that, and I think that’s given me compassion for my CCS students who, during their junior year or so, have a little angst about it. They feel almost guilty about that, and I think I can help them and say: “How awesome that you’ve figured that out.” We really do give them a chance to figure that out now instead of once they go to graduate school.

So, are they different? In some ways, they’re just the same. They are in the middle of this prime period of life when they’re asking questions and trying to figure out who they are along with their interests. CCS students are a little bit further along that path of figuring out what they want, and they tend to be pretty confident about that. I don’t know if that’s partly us helping them see us as colleagues. I think in classes they tend to be the ones who sit in front or raise their hand, and that’s pretty cool. It makes me proud of our CCS students. But really, all the students here are excellent.

CCS: How would describe the College as a whole?

CT: It’s just this really unique, fantastic opportunity both for students and the faculty to really pursue their passion, and always have around them the chance to be influenced by people who are doing different things. It’s this amazing community of faculty and students. We all really love it. It’s like breathing fresh air every time you come to the college, go to a class, or sit in a seminar and have students discuss things.

It’s really seizing the opportunities that are here, both the human interactions and other opportunities. One of the things that is always a little bit of a red flag is when you read an application and the student says what is most attractive to them about CCS is being able to get out of some of the other requirements. That’s not the only thing that we do. As a faculty member, I love my colleagues. I feel so grateful to have Biology colleagues that are wonderful. I learn a lot from them, and I love that during the days I see others, like Dan Connally [CCS Art Faculty], we get to chat a little about things unrelated to our own fields. All of us are focusing in different areas, and I would not have that sort of experience if I were just in my own department interacting with only the scientists; or others just with their Music or Literature colleagues. So, this is really neat. The faculty are learning all the time too, and I have the sense that in CCS the faculty are excited about what other colleagues are doing, not just those in their field. For me having a background in Philosophy, and coming here and having interdisciplinary opportunities has been so cool. I learn stuff all the time, and can’t even imagine a place where I could teach classes like Science Ethics or Ecology of Food. It’s a pretty awesome place to learn as a faculty member.

CCS looks for students who can handle academics but are really eager to learn. They’re the ones who are always asking ‘why.’

CCS: You mentioned a red flag when you’re looking at someone’s application. What are you looking for in a student?

CT: Curiosity. It’s quite a feat to do really well in classes, but if that’s the only goal, then that’s not so good. CCS looks for students who can handle academics but are really eager to learn. They’re the ones who are always asking ‘why.’ These students normally have at least some experience that helps them see that science isn’t just a tool to give you the answer. It’s often the tool to give you some answers.

CCS: And then even more questions.

CT: Yes. They tempt you with "that’s not the whole story." It’s great when you hear students say they’ve had a summer research experience, and their experiments didn’t work, but it made them wonder what to do, and so they persevered. So, things like being able to persevere, even in the face of seeing failure, being able to work hard at answering those questions is important. It’s not just saying “why this?” or “why that?” It’s curiosity and eagerness to learn to do science and really wanting to do that is essential.

CCS: Anything else you would like to share about CCS?

CT: I am so grateful to be part of this community, both the students and faculty. What an amazing place this is, and that I would like to be part of it for as long as I’m around.