Dean's Open Line

Voki Pophristic, Ph.D.
Dean
College of Science & Mathematics and
School of Earth & Environment

For those of you whom I have not had a chance to meet, let me introduce myself.  I am Voki, and I have been given the honor of taking on the role of Dean for the School of Earth & Environment.  I joined Rowan as the Dean of the College of Science & Mathematics two years ago, and now in the six months since the new affiliation between CSM and SEE began, I have already seen many opportunities emerge.  It is particularly exciting to see the growing interplay between SEE’s dedication to mitigating the climate and biodiversity crises and drawing attention to sustainability and green energy and CSM’s science and data driven viewpoint.

One of the specific programs that came out of the affiliation was the Doug Tallamy Centennial Lecture Series on October 4th, jointly planned by CSM and SEE event planners.  At this event, not only did we have an exceptional speaker who took the time to educate an attentive audience about the importance of preserving native plants to protect natural biodiversity, but there was also a tabling expo prior to the event that featured representatives from multidisciplinary backgrounds across campus,  some of which were from CSM and SEE - many from GPS.  I greatly enjoyed seeing and hearing about all of the wonderful and important work people are doing to bring attention to this important issue.

I am very excited about GPS’ work on their accreditation process for the Undergraduate Planning Program.  This is a large undertaking, rare and important in the planning community as a whole, and would be quite an accomplishment for GPS and for Rowan University.  Their Department has worked very hard making the necessary changes to successfully submit their application, and I am very proud of the work they have put in.

If these last six months have shown nothing else, it's that we are stronger when we work together.  I am very much looking forward to what else we can accomplish together in the future.