Sitting here in Anderson Hall at the end of my sixth Winter quarter at UW, I have an opportunity to reflect with gratitude and humility on the opportunity I’ve been given to serve another term as director of SEFS. I’m thankful to the entire SEFS community for making this job so rewarding. One aspect of that reward comes at this time in the quarter when student work is wrapping up and we see our students completing milestones on their path to completing their degrees. The end of any quarter is a busy and nerve-wracking time, but also a time for celebration of all the hard work that goes into creating new knowledge.
The work by our students, faculty, and staff on creating knowledge is central to what we do in SEFS, in the College, and at the UW. Among the stories in this newsletter and on our website, you can read about our work on human-wildlife interactions, human waste composting, and mitigating toxic waste and flood risk in disproportionately vulnerable communities. These are but three examples that highlight the transdisciplinary and engaged work we do in partnership with numerous agencies, tribes, and communities, partnerships that make our scientific and engineering work more innovative and impactful. These partnerships provide invaluable opportunities for our students to engage with potential employers and partners as they complete their academic work.
Speaking of Anderson Hall, I’m excited to report that renovation of this beautiful gothic building, which will celebrate its 100th anniversary next year, is at the top of the University’s priority list for renovation and is currently being considered for capital funding by the state legislature. The renovation will modernize spaces and technology to support our research directions and collaborations and enhance accessibility, safety, and comfort for our community. You can learn more about this exciting project on our webpage.
Taking a break from faculty hiring this year, we are engaged in planning for future hires with the needs created by recent faculty departures and our commitment to meeting future research and curricular needs in mind. We are planning faculty searches in the areas of sustainable bioresources engineering and ecological restoration and management during the next academic year, while also developing additional future hiring priorities. These positions will contribute to existing programmatic strengths in engaged research and education in both of these areas. The engineering position will contribute to evolving our BSE program toward an updated emphasis on process engineering and sustainability.
With the ability to gather again, we invite you to join us for the events noted in this newsletter, including the Sustaining our World lecture with Jerry Franklin (May 3), UW Danz Lecture with Robin Wall Kimmerer (May 11), and our annual end of the year awards celebration (May 17). As you read the sad news of emeritus Professor Bruce Lippke’s passing, note the opportunity to gather on March 26 at the Washington Park Arboretum to celebrate his life, career, and contributions. A number of us gathered at the Husky Union Building this month to celebrate the nomination of our administrator, Jenn Weiss, for the distinguished staff award, which is a university-wide distinction. The nomination recognized the critical contributions Jenn has made to a collaborative environment in the SEFS staff amid substantial change. Be sure to thank her when you see her!
No matter your connection to SEFS, we are interested in hearing from you. Keep in touch!
Dan Brown
Corkery Family Director’s Chair
Professor and Director