Michael Stevens

Faculty Member

Michael T. Stevens

Biography

At Utah Valley University, I'm a Professor of Biology and the Director of Capitol Reef Field Station. I received my PhD from University of Wisconsin-Madison and taught at California State University, Stanislaus, before coming to UVU. I teach and conduct research in two areas: plant ecology and science education. As a plant ecologist, I study how plants interact with their environment including herbivores, soil nutrients and water, boulders, and fire. I'm especially interested in how such interactions affect the expression of plant traits and patterns of plant growth and distribution. My research has focused on native trees and shrubs such as quaking aspen, netleaf hackberry, and Alaska paper birch; invasive species such as tree-of-heaven and myrtle spurge; and endangered species including clay phacelia and Holmgren's milkvetch. As a science educator, I study perceptions of crowding among national-park visitors, field-station partnerships between universities and national parks, and the roles that Science Faculty with Education Specialties (SFES) play in higher education.

Education

PhD, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2005

Major: Botany

MS, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1998

Major: Botany

BS, Brigham Young University, 1995

Major: Conservation Biology

Teaching

BOT 4050

Plant Ecology, Fall 2024

BOT 4055

Plant Ecology Laboratory, Fall 2024

BOT 489R

Student Research, Summer 2024

Presentations

Hulse, Xander W., Smith, Laine S., Stevens, Michael T. , The Showcase of Undergraduate Scholarly and Creative Works, "Native soil addition increases the shoot growth of an endangered plant propagated in a greenhouse. ", Utah Valley University, Orem, UT. (April 8, 2025)
Hulse, Xander W., Smith, Laine S., Stevens, Michael T. , Utah Conference on Undergraduate Research, "Native soil addition increases the shoot growth of an endangered plant propagated in a greenhouse. ", Southern Utah University, Cedar City, UT. (February 28, 2025)
Stevens, Michael T. , Tanner, Kimberly D., Bush, Seth D., Williams, Kathy S. , Biology Education Research Seminar Series, "Reflecting on a decade of investigations of Science Faculty with Education Specialties (SFES): Differentiation from DBER, variation across institution types, and perseverance despite negative bias.", Society for the Advancement of Biology Education Research (SABER) , online. (January 23, 2025)
Kofford, H. Cinimin , Stevens, Michael T. , Ethics Awareness Week, "Teaching sustainability_ environmental ethics at Capitol Reef Field Station.", Utah Valley University, Orem, UT.. (September 24, 2024)
Stevens, Michael T. , Blevins, Maria , McKasy, Meaghan , International Association for Society and Natural Resources, "Management considerations of bucketlisters visiting national park and UNESCO sites in a time of global change.", Cairns, QLD, Australia. . (June 26, 2024)
Shaver, Tyler R. (Co-Author), Smith, Laine S. (Co-Author), McGovern, Sydney O. H. (Co-Author), Stevens, Michael T. (Co-Author), Utah Conference on Undergraduate Research, "Establishing and monitoring new populations of an endangered plant (Phacelia argillacea) over several years.", Utah Valley University, Orem, UT. . (February 16, 2024)

Scholarly/Creative Works

Stevens, Michael T., McGovern, Sydney O.H., Smith, Laine S., Sermersheim, Hailey E., Fife, Joseph S., (2024) "Relationships between reproduction, growth, and tolerance to herbivory for the endangered plant clay phacelia (Phacelia argillacea)" (vol. 124). Acta Oecologica. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actao.2024.104014
Bush, Seth D., Stevens, Michael T. , Tanner, Kimberly D., Williams, Kathy S., (2024) "Differentiation, adaptation, and perseverance_ Maturing conceptualizations of education-focused science faculty in the United States" (Issue: 6, vol. 19). PLOS ONE. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0304426
McKasy, Meaghan , Blevins, Maria , Stevens, Michael T. , Hernandez, Leandra , (2023) "Perceptions of crowding and access to affordances in Capitol Reef National Park, Utah" (vol. 51). Northwest Journal of Communication.
Stevens, Michael T. , Young, Dustin T, (2022) "A Comparison of Mechanical Versus Chemical Control of the Invasive Species Myrtle Spurge (Euphorbia myrsinites)" (Issue: 2, vol. 42). Natural Areas Journal.
Wilson, T , Poulson, Ariel , Packer, Chris , Carlson, R , Davis, Ryan , Dey, M , Owen, N , Smalley, S , Dodge, Reagan , Zahn, Geoffrey , others, Array , (2021) "Essential oil, insect, and microbe relationships in Juniperus osteosperma (Cupressaceae) trees killed by wildfire" (Issue: 4, vol. 103). Phytologia.
Bush, Seth D, Stevens, Michael T. , Tanner, Kimberly D, Williams, Kathy S, (2020) "Disciplinary bias, money matters, and persistence_ Deans’ perspectives on science faculty with education specialties (SFES)" (Issue: 3, vol. 19). CBE—Life Sciences Education.

Awards

Outstanding Research and Scholarly Activity Professor

CSU Stanislaus

Department of Entomology, Kinney Merit Award

UW-Madison

Teaching Academy, Future Faculty Partner

UW-Madison

2003-2005

US Forest Service Employee Excellence Award

TRIO Learning Center, Brenda Pfaehler Excellence in Teaching Award

UW-Madison