More than keeping the lights on

May 2, 2024

When we first introduced the “dean team” to the college back in August, we shared that we hoped to do our “best to support you in carrying out the mission of the College and the University.”  We’ve worked hard over the year to do just that.  We hope you have found us to be good stewards of the college.  Looking back, we are pleased to see all that we’ve accomplished—much more than just keeping the lights on.  This is due in no small part to the work of many of you across the college as we collaborated with you in new and important work, including:

• Hiring a dean!  We are excited to welcome Florenz Plassmann to the college in a few short weeks.
• Funding dozens of you for travel to conferences and other research pursuits, including during the summer months.
• Completing effective assessment of all our degree programs.
• Completing searches for 4 new tenure-track faculty and 2 new teaching professors.
• Setting clear, consistent rank and tenure guidelines across the college.
• Revising the college’s annual review process, based on the summer 2023 CAS task force’s excellent recommendations.
• Offering new programs to support our students, including the launch of the “Donuts with the Dean” open house.

From all of us in the dean’s office, we cannot thank you enough for your patience, kindness, and support through this most unusual year.  We greatly appreciate the trust you put in us.  Thank you too for the continued amazing work you do to support our students every day, in ways that are too numerous to list, and for the engagement you’ve brought to very challenging conversations within the college and across the university.  We hope the summer provides each of you an opportunity to rest, reflect, and do something that brings you joy, and we look forward to beginning a new chapter with you in August.  
 
Jennifer Blasi, Tim Brownlee, Jen Droege, Shannon Kapp, Stefanie Lorentz, Dena Morton, and Steve Yandell