Thanks!

Dear Faculty, Staff, Students and Friends of the College,

 

As most of you know by now I am moving to The Ohio State University to be the Executive Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Vice Provost for Arts and Sciences, and Professor of Mathematics, effective July 1.

Steve Goddard, currently chair of the Department of Computer Science and Computer Engineering, will be the Interim Dean, starting July 1. I have had the opportunity to work closely with Steve over the last few weeks on the transition and am convinced that he will be outstanding. I will continue to make myself available to him, the rest of the Dean’s Office, and all of you to help with the change in leadership.

The past four weeks have offered me an opportunity to reflect on what we have been able to accomplish in the college over the six years that I have been dean. I want to thank you for your help in accomplishing many great things together.  I am confident you will continue the wonderful trajectory the college is on.

 
I will be in and out of the office the next few weeks but would be happy to talk with you anytime. I will truly miss you, my friends and colleagues, and wish you the best.

David

New issue of Columns

As the new issue of Columns magazine hit my desk last week, I was struck with by the recent accomplishments of faculty and students that were highlighted.

Columns seeks to put forth the best of the best that the College of Arts and Sciences has to offer, and with the expansion of Global Studies, as well as the research strides being made, the college is continuing to grow and thrive.

The achievements I would like to highlight myself, though, are the four Susan J. Rosowski professorships granted to four of associate professors. Only four of these professorships were bestowed across UNL and all were given to College of Arts & Sciences faculty. I believe this demonstrates the fantastic work our young faculty are doing both in and out of the classroom and it is a testament to the continued success the college will have.

There’s so much more to read about in the issue. I urge you to find a copy and read about the great things the college is doing. Maybe you’ll be inspired to complete your own success story.

Commencement Redux

In spite of all the best-laid plans, graduation continued to surprise us with regard to the weather. With cold temperatures and constant rain in the forecast, the commencement plans were reworked and events were moved inside.

There were a few snafus, like when it was announced on stage by the graduate dean that I would be distributing master’s diplomas and nobody told me in advance. That’s okay. I’d done that before and it’s fun to do. It’s better than sitting in a chair for the whole event and just watching, so I enjoyed that.

I was very relieved on Saturday after undergraduate commencement because I had been standing for almost four hours. But it was also a lot of fun because unlike regular commencement, I had greater opportunities to interact with the students, and in particular, their parents. At graduation in Devaney, I shake the students’ hands, but their parents are up in the stands, 100 or 200 feet away. Here, the parents could be 10 feet away, taking pictures, asking to have pictures taken with them or other family members. This made it a much more family-centered event. I think many people did miss the pomp and circumstance, but this was fun.

Afterward, at the Chancellor’s luncheon, it was suggested that we might want to do this every year, to which he replied, “no.” But maybe we can take some of the ideas that worked well and incorporate them into future ceremonies to enhance the event for students and their families.

Congratulations to all of the graduates and thank you for staying positive and rolling with the punches.