MESSAGE FROM THE DEAN
In June 2008, the UW Board of Regents approved the creation of a College of the Environment (CoEnv) and a new interdisciplinary institute to leverage the UW’s ability to address challenges in “understanding our environment, developing solutions, and applying those solutions to sustain, steward, and improve the environment.” Although the organizational structure and faculty composition of the CoEnv were not specified, an interim in dean was appointed as of July 1, 2008. A structure was recommended that will facilitate deep and broad interdisciplinary collaboration among natural sciences, social sciences, policy and law, engineering, and the humanities; meaningful cooperation between the UW and other regional and global environmental stakeholders, including government, corporate, and NGO sectors and public interest groups; and the UW’s general education mission to assure that every graduate has the opportunity and incentive to become an informed environmental citizen.A number of existing academic units, including the College of Forest Resources (CFR), were proposed as either a core or a collaborating independent unit. Faculties of campus units have been asked to decide how they wish to participate with CoEnv. In November 2008, the majority of our faculty, by almost 2 to 1, voted in favor of joining the CoEnv as a core unit. When we transition into the CoEnv, we will become a School of Forest Resources (SFR) led by a Director. All components of CFR will move into the new SFR, including all faculty, staff, centers, curricula, programs, and facilities. The internal organization of CFR will necessarily change to that appropriate for a school, but existing internal administrative reporting arrangements will remain intact. We expect that the schools and departments that eventually make up the CoEnv will maintain a considerable amount of autonomy, as is the case in most departmentalized colleges.
Planning for this transition is underway, but until the required administrative processes to effect this change within the UW are completed and adopted by President Emmert and the Regents, CFR remains an independent college. Because no specific timetable for the transition has been established, we cannot predict when the transition may be completed. Further, the State budget deficit may adversely affect the process. Thus, there is considerable uncertainty surrounding the future organization of CFR.
CFR has long been a leader in forestry and natural resource management and science. The urgent need to solve the environmental challenges we face today makes our programs in high demand. Our Environmental Science and Resource Management undergraduate major, offering options in sustainable forest management, landscape ecology and conservation, wildlife conservation, and restoration ecology and environmental horticulture grew by 16 per cent in 2008. Our graduates are leaders in natural resources and public and private land management throughout the world. Our faculty research has regional and global importance. Our outreach and technical transfer provide knowledge and training in international trade in forest products, sustainable forestry, ecosystem science, wildlife conservation, bioresource science, public gardens, urban ecosystems, and environmental horticulture. Our partnerships include formal interdisciplinary links across the UW as well as collaborations with academic institutions, public agencies, NGOs, corporations, and small forest landowners.
Entering our second century, we will continue to lead in solving environmental challenges — conserving plant and animal species biodiversity, understanding the effects of global climate change on terrestrial ecosystems, developing non-fossil cellulosic biofuels as an alternative energy source, protecting forest health (including invasive species, fire, and insect invasions), analyzing global market pressures for natural resource commodities, sustaining natural resource-dependent communities, and helping preserve working forests at risk of land conversion. We will continue meeting these challenges in our role as an independent School of Forest Resources within the CoEnv.
CFR will bring to CoEnv a growing student body, high faculty teaching and research productivity, a legacy of collaboration with many stakeholders across the state and region, and significant monetary resources from supporters who have demonstrated their confidence in our vision and stewardship over the years. One of the key features expected of the CoEnv is increased collaboration with other UW units. One way this might occur is through joint faculty appointments, and we will review all such requests carefully. Our long history of interdisciplinary and collaborative teaching and research has served our students, CFR, and the UW very well, but as new UW budget models are implemented, we must steward our faculty resources carefully and wisely. Decisions related to joint faculty appointments will be made within the context of existing resources and CoEnv/SFR expectations.
We remain committed to educating the next generation of leaders, scientists, and informed citizens who will help solve the natural resource and environmental challenges facing society. Our strategic mission, vision, and goals have been periodically reviewed and revised to maintain currency and relevance. They provide broad guidance for all of our academic, research, and outreach programs. These core elements will transcend our transition into the CoEnv, allowing us to generate new resources over time to serve our students, constituents, and Washington citizens even better than we have done historically. The future is bright if we act strategically and harness our collective wisdom and energy.
December 8, 2008