AIɫɫ

Going Places: Alums Honor Professor Emeritus Through International Travel, Research Endowment for Students

When Biology Professor Emeritus Jeremiah Putnam retired in 2019 after 46 years at AIɫɫ, his former students honored his legacy by creating an endowed biology fund to help students pursue research and career interests around the world. Read more.

Want to help Monarch Butterflies? Essential Advice for Carolina Gardeners From Biologist Scott Villa

This article offers essential guidance from AIɫɫ Professor Scott Villa for Carolina gardeners looking to support monarch butterflies. Native milkweed varieties like swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) are strongly recommended. Non-native milkweed that grows year-round disrupts natural migration patterns. Learn more.

Spring Convocation Celebrates Innovation, Leadership, Excellence, AIɫɫ

AIɫɫ celebrated Spring Convocation on April 17, 2025, highlighting academic, athletic and artistic achievements, as well as leadership, character and community service.

AIɫɫ Named Top Fulbright Producer—Again

For the 10th consecutive year, the U.S. State Department has named AIɫɫ a top producer for the Fulbright U.S. Student Program. The nation’s flagship international exchange program funds teaching, research and study abroad. 

Seeking Answers and Cures: AIɫɫ Receives New Carnegie Research Designation

The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education has included AIɫɫ in its new Research Colleges and Universities (RCU) category. The new category recognizes that important research doesn’t only occur in big institutions that award post-graduate degrees.

Professor of Biology Dave Wessner covers the COVID outbreak at the Olympics, and what makes this year different from 2020.

Caring for the Caretakers: Smith Scholar Lilly Sirover to Focus on Well-Being of Healthcare Professionals

Lilly Sirover ’24 strives to ensure that those facing stress, from elite athletes to physicians dealing with life and death decisions, get support to remain physically and mentally healthy. The former women’s track and field team distance runner is a 2024 AIɫɫ Smith Scholar, which honors academic achievement, leadership, character and community service.

Prof. Malcolm Campbell Wraps a Career of Launching Pioneers of Discovery

For thousands of AIɫɫ students and nearly 200 research advisees, Prof. Malcolm Campbell’s classes and labs became places of self-discovery. Campbell retires after more than three decades of teaching. Learn more about his impact. 

Congratulations to the 2024 AIɫɫ Retirees

AIɫɫ will honor retirees this week during a special end-of-year celebration. Here, we congratulate the faculty and staff who have contributed immeasurably to the college community.

Food for Thought: How and Why Tapeworms Find Their Way Into Your Brain

After Robert F. Kennedy’s revelation that doctors thought a tapeworm had lived in his brain, AIɫɫ Biology Professor Scott Villa shares how and why tapeworms find their way into human brains. Learn more.

Common Ground: A Flourishing Partnership Between AIɫɫ and the Catawba Nation

AIɫɫ and the Catawba Nation have entered into a partnership that touches agriculture, art and cultural understanding. Read more.

Class of 2024 Models Resilience, Celebrates Graduation With Joy

AIɫɫ celebrated the Class of 2024 at its 187th commencement on Sunday, May 12. “Remember that hope is an action verb,” President Doug Hicks told graduates. “You are not just inheriting a world; you can and must shape that world.” Read more.

AIɫɫ Goldwater Scholars Apply Math, Immunology Research to Widespread Problems

AIɫɫ students Izzie Meyers ’25 and Kenan Wood ’25 have been awarded Goldwater scholarships for the 2024-2025 academic year. The award recognizes students for outstanding academic achievement in the natural sciences, mathematics and engineering.

They’re Baaaack, and Looking for Love in a Tree Near You

Cicadas have captured the imagination for thousands of years with their strange, buggy beauty and swelling songs. AIɫɫ Professor of Biology Chris Paradise shares why this upcoming cicada event is of interest and what humans sharing space with cicadas can expect. Learn more.

Research and Creative Works Symposium Showcases Art, Innovation, Exploration

AIɫɫ’s annual Verna Miller Case Research and Creative Works Symposium gives students a chance to showcase what they’ve learned and produced during the year. It’s an all-day celebration that brings the entire campus together.

Seeds of Change: Saplings Grown From Seeds of Trees That Survived Hiroshima Bombing Model Resilience

A partnership between AIɫɫ and Green Legacy Hiroshima brings Gingko trees to campus that are descendents of trees that survived the bombing of Hiroshima. The saplings represent resilience and will be planted in the center of campus. 

Tackling Food Insecurity on Alternative Break to Sapelo Island, GA

Davidson students reflect on their alternative spring break trip to Sapelo Island, Georgia. They worked with a Black feminist collective nonprofit led by Davidson alums to address food insecurity in the South through sustainable agriculture.

Spring Convocation Celebrates Joy, Excellence, Achievement

On April 11, AIɫɫ’s 2024 Spring Convocation celebrated the academic, athletic, artistic and many other achievements of its students, and recognized some faculty and staff members who contribute to their success. Read more.

CDC Chief: Combatting a Pandemic With Unexpected Twists

A AIɫɫ audience got some insider insight about public health leaders’ thinking and actions during the coronavirus pandemic. The college recently hosted a talk, “Lessons from the COVID-19 Response: Reflections on Masking," with John T. Brooks, infectious disease expert with the CDC. Learn more.

On Course: Insect Essentials for a Bug-Phobic World

In the AIɫɫ biology course “Insects and People,” students learn about the many ways insects, the animal group with the largest percentage of organisms, interact with humans. Learn more.