17th added to UCI’s ranks

Michael Miller

John Avise once thought he would never attend graduate school, much

less become a distinguished professor.

The author and scientist, who for three decades has pioneered the

use of molecular genetics in studying evolution, entered the

University of Texas in 1970 for survival more than glory.

“I went to graduate school only, honestly, to get a deferment from

the Vietnam War,” Avise said. “I was opposed to the war and all the

politics that were behind it. So that got me into graduate school

more by chance than by conscious devotion to want to pursue an

academic career.”

Avise, who called himself “something of an anti-intellectual in

those days,” found his home in academia soon enough. On Wednesday, UC

Irvine appointed him as a distinguished professor in its School of

Biological Sciences. He is the 17th faculty member to achieve the

distinguished honor at UCI, following filmmaker and choreographer

Yvonne Rainer, who joined the Claire Trevor School of the Arts

earlier this month.

“We’re very happy about it,” said Susan Bryant, dean of the School

of Biological Sciences. “It’s a good thing for UCI, definitely. He’s

been a pioneer in using technical advances to understand evolution

... but what makes him so unusual is the number of books he’s

written, as opposed to just scholarly papers.”

Avise (pronounced ay-viss), who currently teaches at the

University of Georgia, has written two textbooks as well as four

works on genetics and evolution. He was among the first researchers

to use mitochondrial DNA to study evolution, a method that he has

used to identify birds and animals as endangered species.

In addition, Avise is a member of the National Academy of Sciences

and a fellow of the American Assn. for the Advancement of Science,

the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American

Ornithologists’ Union. He will join four other National Academy

members -- Francisco Ayala, Michael Clegg, Walter Fitch and Douglas

Wallace -- on the School of Biological Sciences’ faculty.

Francisco Ayala, who served as Avise’s doctoral advisor at UC

Davis in the 1970s, was pleased with his former student’s

appointment. Avise received his offer to teach at UCI when he visited

Ayala on campus last year for the professor’s 70th birthday.

“Many people consider him the most brilliant evolutionist of his

generation,” Ayala said. “He’s a great addition to our department, to

the School of Biological Sciences and to UCI.”

Avise’s appointment at UCI begins Friday.