2005 SFOS All-Faculty Meeting Summary

Photo credit: Dave Partee

The SFOS Faculty Meeting held in Fairbanks on August 22 and 23 was a resounding success.  Thanks to the 48 faculty who participated and to Jennifer Vetsch and Carin Bailey for organizing the meeting.  I was delighted that UAF Chancellor Steve Jones was able to attend to welcome the faculty and that Provost Paul Reichardt spent some time with us describing his plan for “Assuring Academic Quality at UAF.” His comments on the importance of the unit peer review in the tenure process were especially timely as we are now working on the tenure and promotion review process. 

The Faculty of the Future (FOF) Committee chaired by Kate Wynne stimulated an informative discussion of how to move the school forward.  The presentation by Graduate Dean Susan Henrichs helped us focus our attention on the needs of our graduate students.  The energetic participation of faculty in the discussions of how to improve our degree programs and how to improve student mentoring provides strong evidence of the commitment of SFOS faculty to our academic programs.  I believe everyone found the evening at the Alaska Salmon Bake the most enjoyable part of the meeting.

--Denis Wiesenburg, SFOS Dean