A message from Dean DeWalt sent to the CBS community on March 13, 2024.
Colleagues,
One of my goals when I started in this role was to meet as many members of the CBS community as possible over the course of this year. I’ve met many faculty, staff, students, alumni and supporters so far and continue to do so. Those conversations left an overwhelmingly positive impression. We just published our 2023 annual report, and it’s really energizing to see all of the wonderful accomplishments from the past calendar year. I look forward to all we’re going to accomplish in 2024!
Connecting with the CBS community
Over the past few months, I spent time getting to know alumni and supporters in Florida, Arizona and the Bay Area. Later this spring, I’ll meet alums in Chicago, New York and Duluth. It’s been a whirlwind of travel, but well worth it to meet our grads and hear about their paths.
I’m also looking forward to meeting prospective students at our upcoming Future Gopher Admitted Student Days. The first one was earlier this month, and 41 admitted students and their families attended the event. Thank you to all who played a role in making the event a success including Admissions, CBS Student Services staff and faculty who volunteered to talk to students about our majors.
On the graduate program side, campus visits just wrapped up. That in-person experience is an important part of the decision-making process for prospective students. So many people play a role in making it all happen including our graduate program coordinators, faculty admissions committees and current students who helped host visitors. Thank you all for your efforts!
Recognizing faculty and staff excellence
I’ve said before how impressed I am with the caliber of work happening across this college, and I think it’s important to recognize those efforts. With that in mind, the Dean’s Office is hosting a year-end celebration to recognize the contributions of CBS faculty and staff on Thursday, May 9 from 3-5 p.m. We will give updates and recognize award-winning members of the CBS community. Please save the date and plan to attend if you are able!
Employee engagement
Last year, faculty and staff completed the University’s Employee Engagement Survey. In CBS, 71% of faculty and 65% of staff participated. We received the results of the survey in February, and managers of groups with six or more employees received reports specific to their team. In the coming weeks, department and unit leaders will be sharing those results and facilitating a discussion about what’s working well, opportunities for improvement and pathways to address concerns.
New offerings at Itasca
Many of you know that our Itasca Biological Station and Laboratories offers field courses in May and June each year. They are expanding their offerings this summer with two short courses focused on nature journaling and nature writing later in the summer led by CBS professors Jennifer Powers and Marlene Zuk, respectively. The courses are open to all. I encourage you to check them out and pass on the information about them.
Best regards,
Saara J. DeWalt
Dean, College of Biological Sciences