Dean's update

September 9, 2009

Welcome back everyone to the 2009-2010 academic year in our College! Our students are back and Storrs is bursting with the energy that our students bring to UConn and our College. For the first time, the College has selected 16 students as our inaugural class of College Ambassadors. These student leaders will work with the College administration throughout the year on a variety of recruiting, alumni and college events. What better ambassadors can we have than our own students?

As you know, the state has finally approved a budget for the next biennium. Without a state budget, UConn was unable to finalize a budget for the fiscal year and therefore the colleges and schools have been unable to complete the budgeting process for the year.  Fortunately, we have been able to rehire a number of our retirees, hire a few adjuncts and in-residence faculty members, and make a few hires to fill critical gaps. All of these actions will ensure that our classes will continue to be taught, and our research and extension programs conducted to serve Connecticut citizens. Although budgets will continue to remain tight, we have a strategic plan in place that will allow us to move forward rapidly once the budget picture improves.

In a meeting with the deans, the provost has communicated his priorities for the academic year. They include the need for the colleges and schools to review and revise their bylaws and policies and the need to clarify teaching load expectations for faculty members based on comparisons to benchmark programs. The need to improve our by-laws and policies was already on my to-do list, so it fits very well into a need I had identified for the College. I will begin working with a faculty group in the next few weeks to begin this process. Likewise, I will be working with the department heads to clarify faculty teaching load expectations. 

Several personnel changes have occurred in recent months. With the retirement of Bruce Wilbur, I have restructured CIT. Sara Putnam is now in charge of Communications and Tom Corso is now providing leadership for IT. Dr. Van Kruiningen has stepped down as Head of the Department of Pathobiology and Veterinary Science effective September 1. Dr. Steve Geary will serve as interim Head of the department and Dr. Sandy Bushmich will serve as interim head of the Connecticut Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory. I would like to personally thank Dr. Van Kruiningen for his leadership over the past several years.

Gregory J. Weidemann

Dean and Director