Dean Tom McFarland leaves UVSC

School of Technology and Computing dean Tom McFarland has announced that he will be leaving UVSC at the end of February. Here is acting VPAA Karl Worthington's awkwardly worded e-mail, that was forwarded to all school employees school by president Bill Sederburg:


---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "President Sederburg"
To:
Date: Fri, 16 Feb 2007 14:32:02 -0700
Subject: T&C Dean Announcement

This is the official "Thank You!" and "Best Wishes!" to Dean Tom McFarland who has resigned the position of Dean of the School or Technology and Computing. Dean McFarland's last day will be February 28, 2007. Tom is moving to New Mexico for family reasons and we wish him the very best as we also express appreciation for his unique and valuable service to UVSC. A reception will be held to honor Tom's service and to meet with him on Monday, February 26, 2007 in Center Stage.

Dr. Ernest Carey has accepted our request that he serve as the interim dean of the school. We are grateful to Ernie for his willingness to serve where he is needed for as long as he is needed-up to a point! Ernie's long service as a faculty member, including service as President of the Faculty Senate, as a department chair, and as an associate dean is a fine record and Dean McFarland has included Ernie in a lot of his activities the last while to prepare him to assume this role well. I urge all of us, and particularly the faculty and staff of the School of Technology and Computing, to give a little extra in support of Dr. Carey as he directs and moves forward the initiatives underway and planned for in the school.

A search and screening committee will be put together soon to begin the process of searching for a new dean. It certainly is conceivable that this dean selection may be one of the first new personnel decisions of the new VPAA.

J. Karl Worthington
Interim VPAA

The move seems quite sudden, as it is midway through semester. Worthington's e-mail says the move was prompted by "family reasons". The Pipeline has heard that McFarland has family that lives in the area, and also that the move was in conjunction of a potential job there. The Pipepline will keep you updated if more reasons are given by the involved parties.

In the meantime Dr. Ernest Carey will be standing in as interim dean until a search committee can come up with some candidates for new VPAA Liz Hitch to look over.

So far so good

As the short legislative session rolls along it appears UVSC's push for university status is gathering momentum. On Friday the senate voted 29-0 in favor of SB 70 which paves the way for UVSC to upgrade to a level II institution. The bill will get one last floor read before heading to the house, where it might facing some tougher challenges.

The Pipeline caught up with Bill Sederburg on Thursday morning and he gave every indication that he was confident of the senate vote, and optimistic about the house. His righthand man Jared Sumsion said that they are begining the process of identifying their proponents, marking these legislators with a UV pin if they have their vote.

Of course all of this activity is happening right in the middle of a crucial hire for the college, as Sederburg looks to fill Brad Cook's Academic VP position. This will most likely be the biggest personel decision of his tenure, and will greatly shape the future of the institution as it progresses into a new role within the state.

Friday morning Big Bill sent out this e-mail to employees.

Updated information on Search for Vice President for Academic Affairs



I want to thank everyone who has been involved in the search for Vice President for Academic Affairs . The search committee under the excellent leadership of Numsiri Kunakemakorn and Ian Wilson have provided three excellent candidates for final consideration. I have been very impressed with each person.



Yesterday, I met with the search committee, the vice presidents, the deans, and the Board of Trustees; reviewed the written comments from the open forums; and responded to many e-mails. Additionally, I have reviewed the candidates' qualifications with a variety of people and have done extensive reference checking. I am continuing to talk with others throughout the state and nation who know the candidates and can provide additional input.



You should know that three variables will drive my final decision. The first is the candidate's concurrence with the mutually-developed institutional mission and vision identified through the Strategic Planning Process, PBA process, master plans, and institutional work plans. The second is the candidate's compatibility and partnership with our institutional leadership team. Finally, given the scope and amount of work facing UVSC and Academic Affairs, the candidate's ability to provide the dynamic, energetic leadership required.



I will be out of town making a presentation and will not return until mid next week. Thus, I may not have my final decision ready for announcement until late next week. As this is an important decision, I appreciate your patience during this review and decision-making process.



When the decision is announced, I ask everyone to rally around whomever I select. The committee has presented us with three excellent candidates; it is a fun decision to make.

Sederburg gives short list for new V.P.

UVSC President William Sederburg has tipped his hand and shown us all his final candidates for the VP of academics spot vacated by Brad Cook. An e-mail went out to employees this morning with the names of the three candidates, their bio information, and times of various meet-and-greets.

The bios are included below:

Dr. Elizabeth J. Hitch

Liz Hitch came to the University of Wisconsin – La Crosse (UW-L) in July 2002 as Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs after serving for seven years as Dean of the College of Education and Professional Studies at Eastern Illinois University, Charleston, Illinois. She served as Interim Chancellor for UW-L from July 1, 2006, to February 1, 2007. Previous to her work at Eastern, she served for 15 years as a faculty member in the Department of Environmental Studies (achieving tenure and rank of full professor) at Central Michigan University. At CMU, she also held positions as Director of Teacher Education; and Associate Dean of the School of Education, Health and Human Services. Before entering the faculty ranks at CMU, she was Manager of Instruction Design in the School of Medicine at The University of Michigan. She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Human Ecology from Michigan State University and a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from The University of Michigan.


Dr. Bill Evenson

Bill Evenson has been a university administrator for 11, an administrator at Utah Valley State College for 3 years, and a faculty member for 37 years, most of which he has been deeply involved in teaching and research in his field of physics. He is currently Associate Dean of Science & Health and Professor of Physics at UVSC, where he also led the College General Education Committee for the past two years. He was Interim Associate Vice President for Scholarship and Outreach in 2004-05. He was Professor of Physics at Brigham Young University for 34 years and served there as Associate Academic Vice President in charge of General Education, Honors, Continuing Education, Religious Education, the BYU Jerusalem Center (overseeing the establishment of programs there when the new building was first occupied), and with shared responsibility for international programs. He was also Dean of the College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, and Dean of General Education. One of his strengths as an administrator has been the ability to work effectively with all constituencies – students, staff, faculty, advisors, and administration – in a collegial relationship to strengthen the institution and solve problems as they have arisen.

Evenson received his Ph.D. in theoretical condensed matter physics from Iowa State University in 1968, and B.S. in physics from Brigham Young University in 1965. He was an NSF postdoctoral fellow at the University of Pennsylvania with J. R. Schrieffer. His physics research now deals mainly with studies of surfaces, nanostructures, defects in materials, and inverse problems in statistical physics. He was a Fulbright Senior Scholar (research) at University of Konstanz, Germany, for 1998-99. He has had other visiting appointments at University of Hawaii and Oregon State University, and he was George and Caroline Arfken Physics Scholar in Residence at Miami University (Ohio) in November, 2002. He continues his research in physics and work in history of physics along with his current administrative position. He has published approximately 95 papers and one book in physics.

Evenson is a Fellow of the American Physical Society (APS).and has been an officer for many years of the APS Forum on History of Physics and the APS Four Corners Section. He was editor of History of Physics Newsletter for 6½ years from 1997 to 2003. He is a current member of the Editorial Board of the journal Physics in Perspective. His long-standing interest in the history of physics continues in parallel with other activities in the physics community: founding chair of the APS Four Corners Section, where he instituted and promoted a strong focus on student participation and a successful program of public outreach lectures connected to the annual section meeting; currently Chair-Elect of the 3,500-member Forum on History of Physics; APS Panel on Public Affairs (POPA) from 2001 through 2003.

He has active collaborations with scientists in Germany, China, and several universities in USA. He is Chair of the Executive Committee for International Conferences on Hyperfine Interactions and Nuclear Quadrupole Interactions (2004-present). He was on the Program and Organizing Committees for the 13th International Conference on Hyperfine Interactions, Bonn, Germany, August 2004, and he chaired the Program and Organizing Committees for the 12th International Conference on Hyperfine Interactions, Park City, Utah, August 2001. He participated in the Hydrogen Initiative Workshop Panel of POPA in San Francisco, December 5-7, 2003, writing one of four major sections of the report on research required for hydrogen energy development. He currently shares an NSF grant focused on undergraduate research experience with a colleague at Northern Kentucky University that now involves two UVSC physics majors and one other faculty member.

Evenson published a small book dealing with science and religion at the end of 2005: Mormonism and Evolution: The Authoritative LDS Statements, William E. Evenson and Duane E. Jeffery (Kofford Books, Salt Lake City, 2005).


Dr. Steven H. Hanks


Dr. Steven H. Hanks is Vice Provost at Utah State University. He began his academic career teaching at Northeast Missouri State University (now Truman State University). He received his Ph.D. in Business Administration from the University of Utah, specializing in the areas of Business Strategy and Human Resource Management. He joined the faculty at Utah State University in 1988 where he has taught extensively at the graduate and undergraduate levels, courses related to strategic management, global business, applied research, and entrepreneurship. His research has centered on issues related to strategy, structure and leadership in emerging business ventures and his work has been published in the Journal of Business Venturing, Entrepreneurship, Theory and Practice, the Journal of Small Business Management, as well as other journals, reports and conference proceedings.

In addition to his faculty roles, Dr. Hanks has carried numerous administrative assignments, including service as Director of the Utah State University Small Business Institute, Associate Dean in the College of Business, Faculty Senate President, Vice Provost for International Affairs and Director of Distance Business Programs. During the 2001-2002 school year, Dr. Hanks was on assignment in the West Bank where he served as Dean of the Faculty of Administrative and Financial Sciences at the Arab American University in Jenin. In his present role as Vice Provost, Dr. Hanks carries a broad portfolio of assignments related to international and academic affairs. He is familiar with critical issues in higher education in the State of Utah and the Utah System of Higher Education, serving as point person for USU in communications with the Commissioners Office and the State Board of Regents in areas related to academic affairs.