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Steve Davis Presents Cherry Award Lecture
It was the kind of occasion that defines a university community. Students, faculty, and staff gathered in Pepperdine's Smothers Theatre to hear a scholarly lecture and honor one of its own. In a venue that over the years has hosted world leaders, Nobel Prize winners, and CEOs from leading corporations, Pepperdine's Steve Davis, Distinguished Professor of Biology, addressed a packed auditorium for nearly an hour, sharing with them his love of science and teaching.
To watch Davis' Cherry Award Lecture, please click here. To view the Q&A portion of the lecture, click here.
The occasion was Davis' much anticipated lecture following an announcement that he was the 2008 recipient of Baylor University's Robert Foster Cherry Award for Great Teaching. More than 100 nominees were considered for the prize and when the committee made its selection, it chose a 30-year veteran of Pepperdine University who is known as much for his scholarship as he is for his "great teaching."
Michael Feltner, chair of Seaver College's Natural Science Division, said of his colleague that the award was based on Davis' "proven record as a teacher, on his record of scholarship, and for his impact on students."
Darryl Tippens, Pepperdine's provost and chief academic officer, noted that the biology professor and plant ecologist had mentored more than 150 undergraduate student research projects at the University. He praised Davis saying, "We have high demands of faculty. We expect them to teach well, to conduct research, and serve as models of faith. Steve Davis has it all."
The honor of introducing Davis went to a former student named Stephanie Fabritius who is currently professor of biology, vice president of academic affairs, and dean of Centre College in Danville, Kentucky. "Steve Davis was the most inspiring faculty member, mentor, and colleague I've ever had," said Fabritius. "He was always motivating and inspiring; his enthusiasm for biology could not be contained. He embodies the gold standard of what it means to be a teacher - leading by example, conducting research, and publishing with his students. Most important, he takes the notion of lifelong learning seriously."
The introduction brought an appreciative audience to its feet awarding Davis a prolonged standing ovation. The applause ended only when the biologist motioned, actually implored the audience to be seated.
Davis' lecture was titled "Celebrating the Spice of Science" and presented two thematic principles. First, that science is advanced by ideas and undergraduates can contribute uniquely, and, second, that interdependence is central to learning. He said the key ingredient in scientific inquiry is creativity and that his experience working with undergraduates has repeatedly demonstrated how vastly creative students are.
"I've learned the value of challenging the undergraduates," said Davis, and "urging them to seek transformative ideas and not to be intimidated." On that point he shared a quote by philosopher Thomas S. Kuhn who labeled suppression of novelty as "a deterrent to the advancement of science."
Davis reviewed several examples where his students have used innovative approaches to testing their hypotheses of factors that control plant growth, what determines drought tolerance in plants, and what can we learn from post-fire plant ecology.
"Time and time again," said Davis, "the students come up with creative, novel, original, and transformative ideas." He says the work is beyond rewarding: "studying, exchanging ideas, going out into the field, collaborating, and crystallizing hypotheses in the form of questions - that's ‘spice.'"
