ÀÏ˾»ú¸£ÀûÍø

After working the past seven years in academic affairs—most recently as vice provost, the department’s No. 2 position—Joan Lin-Cereghino is opting to head back to the laboratory and classroom.

She will rejoin the faculty as professor of biological sciences, a position she held for 18 years before she moved into the provost’s office in 2017. In her new role, she will catch a wave as part of ÀÏ˾»ú¸£ÀûÍø’s fast-growing biology major. To support the growing interest, Pacific recently built two new state-of-the-art microbiology labs.

Beginning July 1, Joan Lin-Cereghino will re-join her husband, biology professor Geoffrey Lin-Cereghino, in a shared laboratory that will also include Peaches, their popular 11-year-old therapy dog, who regularly .

She shared thoughts on the career shift, opportunities for Pacific faculty and students and more.

Describe your current duties in academic affairs.

I basically take care of faculty from the time they are hired until after they retire and everything in between. That means promotion and tenure, faculty orientation and development. I also review every appointment letter for tenure track faculty.

What motivated you out of the classroom and into the provost’s office in 2017? And what factors are bringing you back to teaching?

Having influence on helping to create a faculty that reflected the makeup of our students was important to me. For my teaching return, I have a passion for working with students and seeing them do well in an important field. I also value the 1-on-1 work on research.

Please reflect on an exciting time in biology at Pacific with rapid growth in student numbers, new state-of-the-art facilities and an emphasis on health care.

Pacific biology is an excellent department with faculty and staff who are focused and invested in the success of students. Put those together with our new facilities and there are great opportunities.

What advice will you have for your successor (yet to be named)?

Work hard to always be kind. This is a job where you can’t think about yourself. It is more important to think about the needs of others.

The university is placing emphasis on health-related fields. How does this impact biology?

Biology is a requirement for many health programs because health is about the human body. Simply put, biology is life.

Describe why research is so important to you.

Research at Pacific is one area where students can learn with hands-on practices. Sometimes learning is better when you are doing things with your hands or seeing things with your eyes. With research you can educate the whole person.

Share the story of Peaches. She is loved by students, faculty and staff.

My family has always adopted senior labrador retrievers. They are particularly good as therapy dogs, and we have trained four. We adopted Peaches when she was seven years old and she’s now almost 12. People expect to see Peaches when they walk by my office (second floor in Hand Hall).

And she loves to be petted, right?

Peaches has a welcoming face and doesn’t jump on people. Also, people can tell Peaches all their deep secrets and she will keep things confidential.

Share something people don’t know about you.

I was a 1987 Princeton classmate of (actress) Brooke Shields. She studied French literature, and I was in molecular biology. And (Amazon founder) Jeff Bezos was one year ahead of us.

Name a talent of yours for which you are proud.

I have played the piano since I was 4 years old. I often play at church services around town. Music is important in our family. My brother is the assistant concertmaster for the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. He played with Thomas Witte, father of Pacific Conservatory of Music Dean Peter Witte, for 20 years in the Atlanta orchestra.

Share thoughts about your family and what this career change will mean to all?

We are focused on family. Geoff and I have been married for 32 years. Our son, Ted, graduated from Pacific Eberhardt School of Business and works for an entertainment ticketing company. Our daughter, Grace, got her degree from Santa Clara and is a transitional kindergarten teacher in Lodi Unified. For work, I am content with this change moving forward. Pacific is our home and I am confident the change will be positive.