It’s 6:30 a.m. on a Friday in April, and Biological Science Professor William “Bill” Hoese is already on campus, helping a group of his ornithology students perform a bird study. They are assisting a landscape manager in trying to get an Audubon certification for Cal State Fullerton. Some of his other students, part of an undergraduate research team, are working in the Fullerton Arboretum, where they’ve already identified two non-native birds. One has laid eggs in the other’s nest, seemingly relying on the other bird to care for their eggs and young.
In a different environment, some of Hoese’s students are working on field research as part of a collaboration with the United States Geological Survey, studying the limits of the desert tortoise’s range.
“I really like working with all sorts of fantastic students and providing opportunities where they can explore their interests and find ways to connect exciting activities with what they are learning in class as well as what they might want to do in their future careers,” Hoese says.
He sits down regularly with students to talk about what is important to them.
“If someone has a great idea, we’ll explore it. I love trying new things to see if they work – and they mostly do!” Hoese says. “There are endless biology questions to ask, and you don’t always want to be doing the same thing over and over.”
Hoese’s dedication to his students and the way he shapes students’ lives through instructional innovation, undergraduate research experiences, and field-based programs have most recently been recognized with the 2023 Wang Family Excellence Award – Outstanding Faculty Innovator for Student Success.
The Greatest Reward: Seeing His Students Succeed
Hoese says he was taken aback to hear he received the award and is very honored to have been selected. Awards and recognitions, however, are not the achievements he is most proud of.
“One of the greatest parts of my job is that I now have a whole community of former students who valued their experiences and want to give back to current students,” Hoese says.
One of his alumni, Lauren Simpson (BS ’13), who is now a senior biologist at ECORP Consulting, came back and taught students in my ornithology class how to do nesting bird surveys.
“One of the greatest parts of my job is that I now have a whole community of former students who valued their experiences and want to give back to current students.”
Biological Science Professor William “Bill” Hoese
“We found a hawk’s nest, watched Canada geese with their goslings, saw a robin building a nest out of Easter grass, and observed their behaviors carrying insects,” he says. “The experience introduced students to how they can identify nesting behaviors, and it was really cool to have her come back and use her expertise to act as a role model to current students and give them the opportunity to see themselves in a similar role.”
When he officially received the award, Hoese says he told the story of another of his students, Jennifer Ibarra (BS ’20), who was the first in her family to attend college and struggled at first with her confidence to conduct biological research. While taking his ornithology class, she was accepted to a research training program focused on how traffic noise in urban areas disrupts the feeding patterns of seed-eating birds. After graduation, with Hoese’s encouragement, she became a Mojave Desert monitoring technician working with tortoises. Following that, she returned to her passion for ornithology as a field technician at Bitter Creek National Wildlife Refuge.
“She was working with the California condors, and she contacted me. So, we hatched a plan to take my students out into the field to see the work she does,” Hoese says. “Condors are scavengers, so she talked about hauling dead cows out into the field, trapping the condors to assess their health, and radio telemetry tracking. She was able to show the students all of this cool stuff and connect it back to what they were doing on campus. It was phenomenal.”
The Wang Family Excellence Award recognizes outstanding faculty members who, through their extraordinary commitment and dedication, have distinguished themselves through exemplary contributions and achievements. Their activities advance the California State University’s mission, contribute to student success, and enhance excellence in teaching, scholarship, and service.
