Dean Vance T. Vredenburg

Biography

Vance Vredenburg is Dean of the College of Science and Mathematics and Professor of Biology at California State University, Northridge. He is a Fellow of the California Academy of Sciences and a Research Associate at the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology at the University of California, Berkeley. He grew up in Mexico before moving to the United States and received his bachelor's degree in Biology from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and his Ph.D. in Integrative Biology from the University of California, Berkeley.

Prior to joining CSUN, Vredenburg spent 19 years at San Francisco State University, most recently serving as Professor and Chair of the Department of Biology. He is an internationally recognized scientist whose research focuses on amphibian conservation, emerging infectious disease, and the role of the microbiome in wildlife health. His doctoral research demonstrated that the decline of a threatened frog could be reversed in the wild through conservation intervention, an approach that has subsequently been applied in montane ecosystems around the world. His later research helped reveal the global impacts of the emerging infectious disease chytridiomycosis on amphibian populations.

Throughout his career, Vredenburg has embraced the teacher-scholar model of the California State University and has been especially committed to involving undergraduate and graduate students in scientific research. His experience as department chair deepened his interest in academic leadership and the opportunity to support students, faculty, and staff on a broader scale. As Dean, he is committed to academic excellence, collaborative and transparent leadership, and expanding opportunities for students through teaching, research, mentorship, and discovery. He believes deeply in the transformative power of public higher education and its ability to create opportunity and social mobility for the diverse communities served by the CSU.