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Faculty/Staff Information

Michael Baltzley

he/him

, VP Academic Affairs/Provost

Why I chose WOU

Western Oregon offered a great balance between teaching and research. When I was applying for faculty positions, I wanted to work at a public university. I also appreciated that WOU had a diverse student body with a relative high percentage of first generation college students.

At WOU since

09/16/2011

Hobbies

Hiking, camping, cycling.

Fun fact

I have an extra tooth! Whenever I go to a new dentists office, the hygienist "discovers" my extra tooth, asks if I knew I had an extra, then asks if they can show the other people in the office.

Hometown

South Burlington, VT

Favorite book/movie

Cannery Row

Office Hours

Mon	Tues	Weds	Thurs	Fri
9:00 - 10:00 a.m.	9:00 - 10:00 a.m.		9:00 - 10:00 a.m.	9:00 - 10:00 a.m.
Fall 2024

Areas of responsibility

I currently advise Biology majors with a Molecular/Cell focus, Aquarium Science majors, Interdisciplinary Studies majors with a Biology focus area, Biology minors, and Neuroscience minors. I'm also responsible for the 100-gallon aquarium in the lobby of the Natural Sciences Building!

Education

1997 B.S. in Biology from Pennsylvania State University

2006 Ph.D. in Biology from the University of North Carolina

Professional experience

2006-08 Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of California, San Diego

2008-11 Visiting Assistant Professor at St. Mary's College of Maryland

2011-14 Assistant Professor at Western Oregon University

2014-19 Associate Professor at Western Oregon University

2018-20 Biology Department Head at WOU

2019-current Professor at WOU

2019-22 Associate Provost for Academic Effectiveness at WOU

2022-24 Director of Institutional Research for WOU

Awards and honors

2023 WOU Student Organization Advisor of the Year

Professional memberships

American Association for the Advancement of Science

Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology

Teaching Focus

BI 211 Principles of Biology I

BI 315 Cell Biology

BI 434 Comparative Animal Physiology

BI 437 Neurobiology

BI 451 Invertebrate Zoology

For descriptions and past course syllabuses, please click here.

Research Areas

Broadly, I am interested in how nervous systems evolve to create novel behavioral patterns. I have studied locomotion in nudibranch gastropods (sea slugs) and sensory neurons in leeches. My research involves quantifying animal behavioral patterns in different species, identifying neurons that underlie those behaviors, and comparing the features of those neurons in different species. Below is a link to the current projects I am working on. If you are interested in gaining research experience studying invertebrate behavior and nervous systems, please come talk to me!

Current projects

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