USU Uintah Basin Inaugural Professor 'Drifts with Intention'

Utah State University biologist Lianna Etchberger is largely unflappable. She likens her professional journey to a river trip — mostly relaxed, with occasional rapids.

But a stretch of turbulence during her undergraduate years taught her an important lesson about mentorship. When Etchberger asked her advisor about graduate school, he looked at her less-then-stellar GPA and tried to steer her to technical training. The determined southern California native had a different vision and she went on to succeed in graduate school.

“Many people talk about great teachers who inspired them, but no one talks about the people who try to turn you away from something,’” says Etchberger, who recounted her professional journey with family and friends April 15 at a USU Uintah Basin campus gathering. “If you judge students too quickly, you can exclude them from opportunities.”

Her presentation, “Drifting with Intention,” was the 16th talk in the university’s 2015-16 Inaugural Professor Lecture Series. Coordinated by the Provost’s Office, the series highlights the accomplishments of faculty who have been promoted to full professor in the past year.

“As an advisor, you have to check yourself before making assumptions about students and their abilities,” says Etchberger, professor in USU’s Department of Biology. “Here in the Basin and at our regional campuses, especially, some might assume our students as less ‘serious’ about pursuing higher education. But that’s not the case.”

She cites the experiences of recent USU Uintah Basin biology graduates Cathy Mangum ’15 and Clint McKee’05, both of whom she mentored, who each progressed to the University of Utah School of Medicine. Mangum was the College of Science’s 2015 Undergraduate Researcher of the Year and the recipient of the university’s 2015 Legacy of Utah State Award.

“Both Cathy and Clint faced serious obstacles as they pursued their educations and could have given up,” Etchberger says. “But they didn’t and there are many other students like them who, given a chance, will also rise to challenges.”

The Vernal professor says her participation in the National Academies Summer Institutes on Undergraduate Education in Biology, beginning in 2007, has played a pivotal role in her development as a teacher.

“At the institutes, I met the most amazing people and become passionate about using evidence-based teaching methods,” she says.

The feeling was mutual. The Institutes’ staff invited Etchberger back to present to participants and she’s been active in the program ever since.

“What I’ve gleaned from this scientific approach to teaching is three main pillars,” she says. “One is a goal of increasing diversity of students and providing an inclusive learning atmosphere.”

The second is active learning.

“Traditionally, students have sat and listened, but that’s not the optimal way to learn,” Etchberger says. “It’s important to get students involved in hands-on activities in the lab and in the field.”

Thirdly, she urges assessment; that is, determining whether students are learning or not.

Now a full professor, Etchberger realizes she’s no longer the “new kid on the block” and looks forward to opportunities to mentor her peers.

“I’ve had great mentors, including my husband (Utah Carnegie Professor) Rich, who’s shown me how to push limits and expand opportunities for students,” she says. “If you can instill excitement for learning early in a student’s undergraduate career, you have a better chance of retaining them and encouraging them to aim higher.”

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