Hello! Oi!. It’s Bianca Mothé and this is my first newsletter. I want to take a moment to thank Susan for 13 years of dedication to CSUPERB. At the most recent SPC meeting, President Coley (on behalf of the Presidents’ Commission) and Kathie McReynolds and Paula Fischhaber (on behalf of the SPC) renamed the CSUPERB Leadership Award into the Susan M. Baxter Leadership Award and awarded the first one to Susan. I think they were able to surprise her (see below)! This awards represents Susan’s legacy at CSUPERB (one of the many ways she will stay with all of us).

I am incredibly honored to help CSUPERB during this period. I am a first generation college student and passionate about supporting students through improving their educational experience, especially those from underserved backgrounds. I am committed to creating highly engaging experiences for students through research and by supporting peers and colleagues to prioritize student success.

I first attended a CSUPERB Symposium in 2004, a mere five months after joining the CSU from a biotechnology company. I was so impressed with the commitment of the faculty and the accomplishments of the student researchers. I also connected with new colleagues across the CSU, a few of which developed into my research mentors over the years as I was the only immunologist at CSUSM for awhile.

The opportunities within CSUPERB, such as serving on the FCG and the SPC, allowed me to understand the needs of the biotechnology community within the CSU, beyond my own classroom and research laboratory. I have been inspired by CSUPERB faculty and students who are continually on the cutting edge of their practices and serve as example for our community. Prior to this role in CSUPERB, I served as Director of the Middle Leadership Academy in the CSU Student Success Network. The relationships and knowledge gained in this recent role will help support CSUPERB.

I believe that CSUPERB has an opportunity to continue to lead and support our community, especially during this COVID-19 period, for which there is no playbook. I look forward to creating ways to share our experiences so we can learn and quickly move to the next stages to re-engage our faculty and students.

We cancelled the NSF-supported CSU I-Corps Summer Sprint Call for Teams. Travel restrictions remain in place and BIO 2020 turned their international convention into a digital meeting. The teaching team is meeting this week to figure out a virtual offering later in the year (stay tuned!).