Dean's update

December 22 , 2008

With the conclusion of my meeting with the Plant Science faculty, I have completed all of my programmatic briefings in the departments and extension centers. This has been very helpful to me as I continue my learning process. I cannot adequately advocate for what you do without a good working knowledge of your respective programs, nor can I identify potential synergies or opportunities.

With the completion of the PTR process in my office, I will now turn my attention to spending dedicated time working with the writing team to prepare a draft of our College strategic plan. I have met with the committee twice to revise and edit the material developed during the College-wide planning retreat. Once we have a draft in place, I will pass it through the associate deans and department heads for comment and then post it on the intranet for comment by the entire faculty. We hope to have a draft circulating by mid-January. This is an important activity and one that merits our dedicated attention.

Gregory J. Weidemann

Dean and Director