Teacher-Scholar Legacies: Susan Fahrbach
By Erik Johnson, Chair and Professor of Biology, and colleagues
“I’m a neuroscientist…” has been a familiar preface to a question in Biology departmental seminars or to a discussion in faculty meetings. In her 22 years at Wake Forest, Dr. Susan Fahrbach has said this and she’s absolutely right. She is an accomplished and respected neuroscientist.
Dr. Susan Fahrbach joined Wake Forest as the Reynolds Professor of Neuroscience in 2004, after having a career at the University of Illinois. The research questions she has pursued with her graduate students focus on how experience shapes the morphology and function of the nervous system, and she has leveraged the unique social aspects of the honey bee to probe these questions. She is a recognized world authority in the field of neuroethology, as evidenced by 60 peer-reviewed articles and a collection of 40 reviews, chapters, and textbooks. Dr. Fahrbach’s research program has been continuously supported for her career by multiple agencies, societies, and foundations. This level of funding speaks volumes about the significance of the work, which has remained relevant and topical throughout her research career. Notably, Dr. Fahrbach has been recognized for her many contributions to science, including being named a prestigious fellow of AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science) in 2003 and a Fellow of the International Society for Neuroethology in 2020.
Dr. Fahrbach has regularly taught courses in Neuroscience, while also contributing to core Neuroscience courses in the Neuroscience minor. But Dr. Fahrbach is not just a neuroscientist; she has also been a versatile teacher, teaching multiple courses for the Biology Department, including several FYS courses. She has been an engaging instructor in the Biology core curriculum, teaching Comparative Physiology (BIO 114) for decades and, more recently, many semesters of BIO 150 (Biology 1). These courses serve a wide and diverse student population, and Dr. Fahrbach has honed the art of conveying difficult concepts in a supportive environment for students beginning their college journey while capturing their imagination for the wonders of the natural world.
Dr. Fahrbach has been a fierce advocate for the Department of Biology, and she worked tirelessly as its chair for eight years, advancing the department’s mission of teaching and scholarship. As chair, Dr. Fahrbach successfully helped with the formation of two new academic programs (BMB and ENV), which interface with the Department of Biology. During the COVID years, the department was grateful to have a steady hand at the helm. Dr. Fahrbach also led the charge to update our curriculum and improve our graduate program. Since then, she has remained active in college governance, serving as chair of CAA and continuing to provide leadership by example to the department and institution.
So, her familiar refrain of “I’m a neuroscientist,” which many times was meant to set the bounds of a question or discussion, was rarely a limitation at all. More often, it was a prelude to a thoughtful and carefully considered point that cut right to the heart of the issue. So, in addition to being a neuroscientist, Dr. Fahrbach has been a committed educator and impactful leader and a role model for the teacher-scholar ideal.