[Cas-allemps] Provost's Announcement Follow-Up

[CAS Dean]

Dear CAS Faculty, Staff, and GEs,

I'm following up on Provost Patrick Phillips's recent announcement that he is appointing me Tykeson Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences for the next two years. I want you to know I am eager to continue my work for our College through the 2020-21 academic year. I'm excited to advance our shared goals of providing a first-rate education and producing world-class scholarship.

With the start of the year, we are all focused on the essential work of meeting the needs of our students, conducting our research and creative work, and making sure our operations run smoothly. The October array of welcome receptions and events always leaves me awed and inspired by the dedication and accomplishments of our faculty, staff, and GEs. Seeing our campus and classrooms bustling with students is equally rewarding. Now that I have a teenager of my own, I appreciate much more fully the trust our students and their parents are placing in us.  We want CAS to be where they learn, grow, and succeed in the coming years. I know they are in good hands thanks to all of you.

As always, we have plenty of work in front of us. Getting Tykeson Hall off to a great start is clearly a priority and, as I highlighted recently on the CAS Dean's blog, there are many exciting ways we can realize the Tykeson Hall vision of wrap-around advising and foundational educational programs<https://cas.uoregon.edu/2019/10/11186/>. Additionally, we are launching initiatives to draw attention to the many career-legible pathways in our existing liberal arts curriculum and to develop and coordinate experiential learning opportunities for our students.

We also want to address the valuable ideas that came out of the CAS Taskforce that considered the future of the College. One of the key recommendations was to offer more support for research and teaching in the College. Karen Ford has agreed to take on a new role as Dean for Faculty and, in this capacity, she will focus on college-wide functions and initiatives that support research and teaching across CAS. I'm very excited to work with Karen in her new role, and the CAS deans all look forward to welcoming a new Divisional Dean for Humanities in winter term (information on that search to follow).

Fostering greater interdisciplinarity in both teaching and scholarship was another key recommendation of the CAS Taskforce. As a first step, we are beginning a series of lectures by our faculty to highlight and encourage interdisciplinary scholarship<https://cas.uoregon.edu/2019/10/cas-interdisciplinary-research-talks/> in the College. We have also begun conversations with the President and Provost about potential investments in interdisciplinary initiatives in the College that include such areas as the humanities, the environment, data science, and global studies. We are enthusiastic about exploring ideas and directions in these areas with faculty during the upcoming academic year. Moreover, I plan to align our development efforts with the priorities and plans that emerge from these conversations, as well.

Much has happened in the last year with leadership changes, a review of the college and budget cuts, as well as promising new academic initiatives from the Provost's Office<https://cpb-us-e1.wpmucdn.com/blogs.uoregon.edu/dist/9/13250/files/2019/10/White-Paper_Provost-Phillips_Oct-2019.pdf>. I appreciate how all of you keep doing the good work of the College through it all, and I'm eager to keep doing the same.

Have a great start to your fall term!

Bruce

Bruce Blonigen
College of Arts and Sciences
cas.uoregon.edu
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