Dear College Faculty and Staff,

It is with a heavy heart that I write my note this week. Our beloved professor, colleague, and friend Michelle Bezanson passed away on Tuesday with her parents and husband Hari at her side. Many, many in the College and elsewhere on campus are deeply saddened by this news — Michelle was a tremendous member of the campus community, beloved and respected by so many.

A regular presence on campus since 2006, Michelle brought love and life to her work and to our community. She was passionate about her scholarship and her artwork and regularly integrated the two. Michelle successfully had quite a few of her illustrations published in journal articles, but doing so was never a given – disciplinary, peer-reviewed journals in the social and natural sciences have long hosted scientific illustrations, but Michelle took that practice to another, more vibrant level. A beautiful example is the conference poster (above) that she created and presented at the 2023 American Association of Biological Anthropologists in Reno, Nevada. Another example is her August 2022 paper “Best practices are never best: Evaluating primate conservation education program (PCEPs) with a decolonial perspective” published in the American Journal of Primatology.

Michelle with students in her 2013 Field Course in Costa Rica.

Our colleagues have written me over the last two days with many remembrances. A consistent theme is how present Michelle was in all her interactions; she truly showed up – whether as an extraordinary department and campus citizen, or a teacher laser-focused on her students or as a warm, caring colleague and friend. Here are some recent testimonials:

• “Michelle was an amazing teacher, scholar, mentor, advocate, and artist. She touched the lives of countless students and colleagues. It is hard to imagine Santa Clara or our department without her. She will be deeply missed.”
• “She was an amazing force here at SCU. I could tell that through my short time here. She was very generous and kind to her colleagues and students.”
• “Truly a beautiful joyful person who lit up a room,” and “She was a beam of hope and light and goodness.”
• “Michelle was an incredible colleague — whose creativity and generosity informed everything she did for the SCU community. Working with her was inspirational.”
• “She was such a wonderful, genuine, generous person and she brought her whole self to her work and encounters with others.”
• “Michelle was kind, funny, thoughtful, smart, observant and cool.  She always let you know how she felt.  She didn't choose you as a friend because you were faculty, staff or a student.  She chose you as a friend because she liked you and possibly you made her laugh.  She was, hands down, one of my favorite people at SCU and I will forever miss her.”

Michelle naturally and seamlessly practiced an ethically-grounded approach to her academic career. With humility, compassion and justice in mind, she conducted research on primate behavior that foregrounded not just the animal populations she studied, but also the people living in or near primate habitat. Always placing others first, generously respecting the wisdom of those around her – this was how Michelle worked and lived. If you want to see what Jesuit pedagogy looks like in practice, look no further than Michelle.

Santa Clara University will miss you, Michelle. We are so fortunate that you were among us for eighteen years, and will hold you in our hearts and prayers henceforth.

In solidarity, 

Daniel