A Message from the Dean for the 2025-26 School Year

Year in review, commencement recap and highlighting outstanding members of the College

The 2025-26 academic year is now over, and there is much to celebrate!

The SDSU College of Sciences plays a critical role in boosting STEM research and teaching at San Diego State University. This year marks another step in advancing the university’s footprint, particularly among the local community’s booming biotechnology sector, as construction on the new life sciences building propels the facility toward its planned opening during the 2027-28 academic year.

Students, faculty and staff consistently reach new heights of research excellence — studying ancient Indigenous landscapes under the sea, making discoveries to help improve gut health, creating 3D bioprinted tumor models to transform cancer treatment, driving a new law to protect the health of homebuyers, uncovering a potential breast cancer treatment and much more.

Other exciting updates from the past year include professor Richard Levine delivering SDSU’s 2026 Albert W. Johnson Research Lecture and 2026 graduate and cancer researcher Bianca Rollbusch earning the California State University (CSU) Trustees' Award for Outstanding Achievement. The college is also proud to impact the local community through extensive outreach such as the annual San Diego Festival of Science and Engineering.

As the school year ends, we celebrate the current students, faculty and staff whose achievements and dedication to their fields allow the College of Sciences to reach new heights, as well as our alumni who make their mark on the local community and around the world. And, as ever, we are grateful for our generous donors who make these advancements possible.

Below are more updates from the College community. 

Commencement Recap

The College of Sciences was home to three of the top 10 most popular majors for 2026 graduates: Psychology, computer science and biology.

This year, the College awarded nearly 1,500 undergraduate degrees across 34 majors in eight academic departments, in addition to 300 graduate degrees. Our graduates were among more than 13,600 degree candidates from across the university and became members of the more than 500,000 SDSU alumni around the world.

We were also delighted to bestow a doctor of science honorary degree to Greg Lucier, a longtime business leader in San Diego’s biotech and health care industries and a supporter of SDSU’s Guardian Scholars program.

Check out photos from this year’s undergraduate and graduate ceremonies.

Outstanding Faculty and Staff

Every year, each department highlights one faculty and one staff member for their valuable contributions to their department and the college as a whole. Below are the awardees.

Outstanding Faculty

Outstanding Staff

Outstanding Graduates

Each year, one outstanding graduate from the College of Sciences, and one student from each department in the College, is selected in recognition of their academic accomplishments. Below are the awardees, including undergraduates’ faculty mentors.

Undergraduate Level

Graduate Level

Retiring Faculty and Staff

Finally, I want to thank faculty and staff retiring this school year for their longstanding service to SDSU and the College, as well as their significant contributions to their fields more broadly.

Congratulations to the Class of 2026 and to all of our faculty, staff and students on an incredible year!

Jeffrey Roberts
College of Sciences Dean