But she is not content to have a career confined to the laboratory. Described as a "natural teacher," she regularly instructs students of all ages, from kindergarten through graduate school and beyond. In the Department of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology, she teaches a variety of courses, guides undergraduates in their independent research projects, and mentors graduate students. At the Gevirtz Graduate School of Education, she helps prepare students to teach science in the classroom. The continuum of her teaching then reaches out to experienced teachers, for whom she provides in-service training, and to the community at-large where she is a frequent guest speaker. On the other end of that continuum, she is found in elementary and high schools in Santa Barbara and Ventura County school districts bringing the excitement of science and the discipline of the scientific method to young minds. She further engages children before they reach college through a variety of programs designed to give them first-hand experience of what it means to be a marine researcher. Her work has been honored, both in her native Israel, where she was trained and began her teaching career, and locally.

In recognition of her extraordinary contributions to the education of UCSB's larger community—on-campus and off-campus—the UCSB Alumni Association is proud to present the Teaching Award to Dr. Miriam Polne-Fuller.

Presented by the University of California, Santa Barbara Alumni Association

June 2, 2001