November 13, 2000 Contact: Tim Stephens (831) 459-2495; stephens@cats.ucsc.edu UC SANTA CRUZ PROFESSOR RUSSELL FLEGAL RECEIVES OUTSTANDING FACULTY AWARD FROM DIVISION OF NATURAL SCIENCES For Immediate Release SANTA CRUZ, CA--The Division of Natural Sciences at the University of California, Santa Cruz, has awarded Russell Flegal, professor and chair of the Environmental Toxicology Department, the Outstanding Faculty Award for 1999-2000. The award recognizes Flegal's commitment to service, teaching excellence, and distinguished research career, said dean of natural sciences David Kliger. "He is an extremely respected scientist who is held in high regard by his colleagues for his excellence in research, teaching, and service," Kliger said. "He is truly an important asset to our local community, campus, and the Division of Natural Sciences." Flegal received his Ph.D. in oceanography from Oregon State University in 1979 and then worked as a research scientist at the California Institute of Technology. He came to UCSC as a research geochemist in 1985 and joined the faculty as a professor of Earth sciences in 1992. He has served as associate dean of natural sciences since 1994 and has also served on numerous faculty committees. Flegal's service to campus and community includes active involvement in a wide range of programs. In 1997, he became regional director of the California Alliance for Minority Participation in Science, Engineering, and Mathematics (CAMP), a statewide program that supports and encourages undergraduates from underrepresented minorities to complete the B.S. degree. Each summer, Flegal meets with and lectures to students in the program, and many of the students work in Flegal's laboratory for several years under his direction. Flegal is also involved in overseeing a collaborative summer program with Cabrillo College. The program selects 25 community college students to participate for two weeks each summer in workshops to improve their math and science skills in preparation for transfer to a four-year institution. Flegal has also developed new teaching programs on campus. He spearheaded the development and implementation of an academic graduate degree program in environmental toxicology, which was recognized as a new department this year by the UC Office of the President. As a teacher, Flegal consistently receives outstanding student evaluations, which often describe him as a dynamic, well-prepared instructor. His evaluations are replete with statements attesting to his breadth of knowledge and his ability to actively engage students. In addition to classroom teaching, Flegal supervises a large number of graduate students. As a credit to his teaching, all of his students have found employment in their fields on completion of their degrees. Flegal is also a very productive scientist, maintaining an active research program that investigates a broad range of topics involving biogeochemistry of metal contaminants in aquatic and human environments. His research has many societal applications and often relates directly to state and federal policy issues. He has worked, pro bono, with the California Attorney General's Office in class-action environmental litigations for the past decade. He has also given many presentations at workshops in the service of state and national environmental agencies. Flegal maintains a world-class analytic facility that has exceptional capabilities for measuring trace element concentrations and stable lead isotope compositions. As a result of these superior capabilities, his laboratory has been selected by the National Science Foundation to accurately document trace element contamination in the world's oceans. The Division of Natural Sciences established the Outstanding Faculty Award in 1993 to honor excellence in service to the campus and community, teaching, and research. Recipients are selected by a committee made up of divisional department chairs.   ##### Press Release Home | Search Press Releases | Press Release Archive | Services for Journalists
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