“Dr. Hoke is an outstanding researcher, teacher, mentor and leader,” wrote Deborah Garrity, professor and chair of the Department of Biology. “She truly epitomizes the spirit of the Professor Laureate award.”
Kim Hoke, professor in the Department of Biology, is one of two 2023 College of Natural Sciences Professor Laureates, and will share her research in a lecture at the Spring 2023 Professor Laureate Lecture and Awards Ceremony.
The ceremony will be held on Monday, April 10th from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. in the LSC Long’s Peak Room. The event can also be attended remotely, accessed from this webinar link: https://col.st/ypNsF.
“I would definitely like to thank the students and postdocs who’ve spent time in my lab,” Hoke said. “Collaborating with them has led to such creative, fun science.”
Career at CSU
Hoke came to CSU in 2009 and is the director of the Hoke Lab. She studies frogs and guppies, examining the mechanisms that shape the evolution of behaviors like communication, mate choice, reproduction, competition and anti-predator behaviors. Hoke and her collaborators study how genetic differences and lifetime experiences change brain function, she said.
“Our research relies on two primary study systems: acoustic social communication in frogs and anti-predator strategies in guppies,” the Hoke Lab website explains. “The Hoke lab examines the evolution of developmental and molecular influences on the structure and function of the nervous system, and consequently on behavior.”
The director of the LIFE Core Curriculum since 2020, Hoke has led an overhaul of the labs and lecture curricula for Attributes of Living Systems (LIFE 102) and Biology of Organisms-Animals and Plants (LIFE 103), two of the largest courses taught on campus.
“She has demonstrated great leadership and commitment to the success of CSU students,” said Garrity. “Dr. Hoke has been instrumental in obtaining support to create a LIFE support team of multiple graduate teaching assistants each semester. The result is a transformational curriculum in one of the largest, foundational science courses at CSU.”
Professor Laureate Award
The Professor Laureate Award is the college’s highest academic honor, bestowed upon dedicated faculty with outstanding contributions to the missions of research, teaching, mentoring and outreach. The designation is intended to honor recipients and to provide the college with exceptional role models. The title is held for three years and includes an honorarium and two years of research funding.
The other 2023 Professor Laureate award will be presented to Rachel Pries, a professor in the Department of Mathematics, who will present a lecture in the fall.
